


It's Something

by spelling_error



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Comic Book Science, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Kid Bucky Barnes, M/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Polyamory, Steve and Tony argue, for like a minute - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:35:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 39,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24326623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spelling_error/pseuds/spelling_error
Summary: “Hey kid! Aren’t you getting a little old for temper tantrums?” Steve heard Bucky yell to the Scarlet Witch.It's all so horribly ironic, Steve thinks.Just a few hours ago Steve and Bucky had been arguing over the team's childish behavior towards Tony, then they were bickering like kids on the quinjet on the way to this battle, and now... Now the Avengers had a seven-year-old Bucky Barnes where the Winter Soldier should be....This trope has been done so many times, but I've never seen one where it's just Bucky who get's temporarily de-aged, so here we go!This is Steve/Tony/Bucky
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 68
Kudos: 842





	1. Steve

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing after Captain America: the Winter Soldier exists to me, okay?

“So, ignoring the fact that you are perfectly happy to leave Tony in the dark about our feelings for the rest of all our lives,” Steve says harshly to his boyfriend, “you want to rag on me because Clint forget to invite him to movie night that he wouldn’t have shown up to anyway?”.

“No, see that—” Bucky says just as harsh, “That is what ’m talkin’ about!” Bucky stresses, “Why do ya think he don’t show up? He loves spendin’ time with the two of us, but soon as the rest of the team comes ‘round, he ain’t want shit to do with any of us! You need’ta talk to them about it, Stevie, you know damn well Tony ain’t gonna say shit about it,” Bucky said for the hundredth time, aggression leading way to the bleeding of that thick Brooklyn accent.

“You,” Steve said evenly, “are being overprotective _and_ overbearing,” he pointed out, “Tony is an adult, Bucky, he stands up for himself when he feels he needs to—he’s not going to appreciate me telling the team to go be nicer to him. They aren’t children,” he rolled his eyes.

“They damn well act like they is, Steve!” Bucky went on, only to be interrupted by the call to assemble.

Ten minutes sees them on the Quinjet. Bucky silently fuming. Steve kept looking over, waiting for him to crack. He didn’t want to go into battle angry like this. Knew Bucky didn’t want to either.

“Stop it,” Bucky finally said, “I ain’t talkin’ ta you,” he grumbled, still angry and still Brooklyn.

Tony’s face lit up from where he was a few feet away, and he was swooping into the seat next to Bucky a second later.

“Well hello there, Brooklyn,” Tony grinned.

Even Steve could see Bucky’s blush from the other side of the jet. Bucky blushed for Tony at the drop of a hat. He’s not sure how no one’s noticed it yet. They might mistake it for an angry flush, he supposed. Bucky did his best to look angry all the time.

“How come you’re holding back on me here, Frosty?” Tony teased, “you never _t-awe-k_ like that,” he teased, trying out his hand at that Brooklyn drawl. He sounded more like he was from the Bronx, a little too harsh.

“Yeah, well when I get a little angry, I get a little Brooklyn,” he grumbled.

“Remind me to make you angry more often,” Tony grinned, “Does it work on Steve? Must not, I piss him off more than anyone else,” he said casual.

Steve frowned. That wasn’t true. But is wasn’t _not_ true either. Tony made Steve _frustrated_ more than anyone else. Tony… Tony just got to Steve. He knew all the right buttons to press and they only really worked because Steve was in love with him. No one could get a reaction out of Steve the way Bucky and Tony did.

“Nah,” Bucky said, glaring at Steve, “Stevie’s all _controlled_ and _proper-like_ now, ain’t that right?”.

Steve rolled his eyes. He wasn’t backing down. Not even at the mention of a seventy-year-old argument.

It wasn’t their place to go telling the team what to do on Tony’s behalf. It wasn’t right. Tony wasn’t theirs. He could be, maybe, but of course, Bucky didn’t want to risk it.

“Sure,” Steve grumbled.

“Oof,” Tony cringed, “Lovers spat?”

“Nah, just Steve being an oblivious punk,” Bucky spat.

Tony looked between them, confused and uncomfortable.

“Sorry, Tony,” Steve said, glaring at Bucky, “Buck’s being a jerk”.

Tony didn’t wheedle at them anymore, which meant the jet was uncomfortably silent for a long time until they landed.

It was Bucky’s fourth mission since being cleared for duty after he’d returned with Steve from DC, so of course something would go wrong.

He heard it over the comms, the battle was against the Scarlett Witch, who, coincidentally, had a grudge with Tony.

And now Bucky too.

“Hey kid!” he heard Bucky yell, followed by an explosion, “Aren’t you getting a little old for temper tantrums?” came followed with machine gun fire.

It was all so horribly ironic. Bucky’s comment about the team being childish, Bucky and Steve bickering like they were kids in the quinjet, Bucky’s comment to the Witch, and now…

Now the Avengers had a seven-year-old Bucky Barnes where the Winter Soldier should be.

Steve… Steve doesn’t even know how or when the battle ended. All he could think about was Bucky—Bucky who he was fighting with right before all this, neither _really_ mad at the other, but still angry enough that Bucky hadn’t kissed him before they set out and now… now Bucky was gone.

He wasn’t really gone. He had been _more_ gone in the past. Steve had mourned for Bucky harder because at least now he could look at the sleeping child in the hospital bed and think “worst case, he grows?” and wow, Steve was crying.

Like, completely crying, had to get up and leave before the team saw, crying. They were all in the room, Steve just outside the door, trying not to think about the last kiss, the last smile, the last ‘I love you’ that he’d shared with his boyfriend.

He heard a whooshing noise inside the room. He recognized it as Dr. Strange’s arrival and tried his best to wipe the tears away.

He couldn’t go back in the room though. Was terrified of getting bad news and losing it completely. The team had suffered enough because Steve couldn’t handle Bucky in distress. It was better if he eavesdropped.

“It looks like he will recover,” Strange said, “A few days and the spell should clear—though the serum may make that shorter, or longer. Still, it will wear away on its own,” and there was a chorus of relieved comments.

Steve’s legs gave out and he sunk to the floor, relief flooding his body.

“I’ll tell Steve,” Tony’s voice said.

“Wait, Ton—”

The door opened. It took Tony a minute to spot Steve, and he offered the genius a sheepish, watery smile.

“I heard,” he said, “I—I’m not so good when he gets hurt,” he admitted in explanation of why he was sitting on the floor, red-rimmed eyes and not in the room where his boyfriend, who was a child now, was asleep.

“Don’t blame you,” Tony said, leaning on the wall next to him, “This is also probably very weird for you,” he said, “Your hundred-year-old boyfriend is like… five”.

Steve snorted a laugh, “seven or eight,” he corrected.

“Still not the age of consent, which is the only version of your boyfriend I’m interested in being around,” Tony said with a wink, “Think I’ll be in the lab the next few days, maybe go to Malibu and let you all chase a pint-sized assassin around the tower”.

“Oh my god, I hate your sense of humour,” Steve sighed with a smile, “Also, don’t even think about it,” he added with a glare, “Bucky loves robots,” he said, at Tony’s shocked expression.

Tony looked considering for a moment, “Huh, yeah I guess he does, doesn’t he…” he hummed.

Steve could tell just by the look on his face that Tony wanted to do something with that information. Mainly, he looked like he wanted to build something.

“Come on,” Steve stood, “We need to figure out how to explain to a seven-year-old Bucky why it’s not 1925 and why he’s missing an arm,” he shuddered at the thought.

Poor kid was going to be a mess.

The team was already brainstorming.

“Just tell him the truth,” Tony said, rolling his eyes.

“Right, well as the people who will actually be responsible for the kid, that’s a terrible idea, and I’m revoking your brainstorming privileges,” Clint replied, “Cap, back me up here,” he adds.

Steve thinks about it, then says, “Tony’s right,” to the surprise of the room, including Tony. “Bucky loved science fiction at this age, if we tell him he’s actually a super hero from the future and a witch turned him back into a kid because he called her names, he’ll be so over the moon he’ll forget all about not being in Brooklyn”.

“For real? You think he’ll buy it?”.

“There’s enough robots here that even if he doesn’t, he probably won’t care,” Steve chuckled, “But for gods sake, let’s not tell him who I am—I can’t take being lectured on the dangers of human experimentation by a seven year old,” he groaned. Also, the questions. So many questions.

Bucky was pale in the hospital bed, tiny and dwarfed by the people in the room. Four feet tall, underfed like all the kids back then, he was barely fifty pounds. His hair was remarkably lighter, but it was shaggier than Winifred would have ever let it get, so he knew this wasn’t the Bucky Barnes of the past plucked and dropped into the twenty-first century. He didn’t have any scrapes or bruises either, which was a good indication that this was magic and not time travel. Bucky at seven was just as bad as Steve for getting in fights. Steve just never grew out of it.

It wasn’t long before people started trickling out of the room now that the worrying was over.

“Tony, you staying?” Sam asked when he announced going to get coffee.

“Yeah, I’m taking readings while I work on a new prosthetic for him,” he mumbled, still playing with the projection he pulled up right about when they settled on what to tell baby-Bucky. Tony had coined the name and it helped Steve separate things in his head a bit.

“A prosthetic? Tony, he’s a kid,” Sam said with a pinched brow expression.

“Yeah, who is about to wake up without an arm,” Tony replied.

“You can’t—you can’t just weld a metal arm onto a kid, Tony!” Sam exclaimed.

Tony shrugged, “Wasn’t really planning to, but good to know that’s where the line is,” he said offhandedly.

“Tony,” Natasha said, “you don’t know anything about prosthesis, you can’t use a kid as a test subject,” she said, voice disapproving.

“Right, right,” Tony muttered, “What is my suit again? Oh, right… High-tech prosthesis,” he says, “Don’t worry, I used myself as a test subject—think I worked out the kinks near trail… fifteen of crashing into reinforced concrete,” he looks up with a grin, “Also, this kid is severely malnourished, the prosthetic will be plastic. The only reason he can support the titanium one is because the serum repairs the damage,” Tony continues to ramble, “Wouldn’t wish that nightmare on anyone, that thing is a monstrosity,” he says, flippant.

“Tony,” Steve eventually says, “What are you doing?”.

“I’m making Baby-Bucky a kid friendly prosthetic, Cap, come on, keep up,” Tony replies. Then, “look, there it is, send to fabrication, Jarvis, I’ll be down in a flash,” he added peevish and sent the glimmering holographic display into the air for Steve’s inspection.

It looked vaguely robotic and had straps to anchor it on around Bucky’s torso.

“Will it work?” Steve asked.

“Not like the other one, but it will give him better balance, less phantom limb pain and the ability to hold non-delicate objects. Limited pressure sensors, just because the plastic isn’t good for it, but yeah, should be okay for a kid for a few days,” he shrugged.

“You did that…. Just now?” Steve asked.

Tony shrugged.

“That’s amazing, thank you, Tony”.

“I’ll head down and start fabrication with the bots,” he said instead of answering Steve’s compliment or thanks.

“Right,” Steve said, disappointed. He kind of was enjoying Tony’s presence here at Bucky’s bedside. He understood though, that Tony was busy, that he was trying to help in his own way. Sitting here and chattering on at Steve wasn’t helping Bucky any.

When Bucky did wake up, it was… a lot. He cried, flailed his arm in an attack, realised his arm was missing and then cried some more.

“Hey, hey, Bucky listen, it’s alright,” Steve soothed, “Promise, just let me explain, okay?”

Eventually he calmed enough to listen.

“We’re your friends, okay? Like we said, you’re a super hero here—you just got hit with some magic, but you’ll remember everything in a week or so,” and at least this time Bucky wasn’t trying to punch him, “You usually have a robotic arm,” he said, and yeah—Bucky’s face absolutely lit up, “It’s really neat, but since you shrunk, it doesn’t fit,” he said, “But!” he added, “Our friend is working on a smaller one that will fit better—he’s an expert on… everything, I think,” Steve reassured.

“Like… like a genius?” Bucky asked.

“Very much, you can meet him soon, I’m Steve, by the way,” he introduced.

“Hey, I know a Steve!” he said brightly. “Met ‘em the other day, he don’t like me very much, but I think I can bring him ‘round,” Bucky smiled.

Behind him Sam gasped, “Oh my god, _baby Brooklyn_ ,” excitedly.

“I’m sure you will,” Steve couldn’t help laughing. “This is Natasha, Clint, and Sam,” Steve explained, “The doctor who was here a little while ago is Bruce, they’re all heroes like us”.

“Oh man,” said Bucky, “The future is just the bee’s knees, huh?” he grinned, lopsided.

He heard Clint stark snickering, “the bee’s knees,” like it was the funniest thing.

It kind of was.

Tony was going to love the little Brooklyn accent. He’d tease Bucky forever after this.

Bucky was calm enough after a while for Bruce to come back and finish his examination, and the doctor told them to take Bucky back to the common room and start on dinner. Bucky needed a few square meals.

Bucky was as helpful in the kitchen as always, meaning he sat on a stool and talked non-stop. The others had no idea what to do about a talkative Bucky Barnes, but Steve could keep up fine. He had a lot of experience with chatty brunettes and this one in particular.

“What’s your superhero name, Ms. Natasha?” he asked.

“Black Widow,” she said with a smirk.

“That’s so cool! That’s a spider, did’ya know? I like spiders, and my new pal, Steve, well, we ain’t friends just yet, but we will be, he likes ‘em too, that’s how I know we’s gonna be friends”.

“Yes, it sounds like you two are meant to be very good friends,” she said, barely hiding her grin.

“Uh huh, yes ma’am we are!” Bucky agreed.

Bucky then went on to question Sam and Clint about why they weren’t married, since they both had bird themes superhero names. Steve forgot about how much Bucky was enamoured by the concept of marriage when they first met.

Tony came up a few minutes before dinner was ready with a little blue plastic prosthetic. Bucky stared openly, slack jaw.

“Tony Stark,” Tony introduced, and stuck out the prosthetic in leu of a real handshake.

“Wowee!” Bucky exclaimed, clambering from his seat and inspecting the arm with his face, not daring touch, but still keeping his nose a scant inch from the tech. “Is this for me? Are you really a genius? Aw, chucks, where are my manners, ma ought’a smack me for that,” Baby-Bucky rambled.

“Swell ta meet ya, Mista Stark, I’m Bucky!”

Tony stared at Bucky like he’d never seen anything more confusing in his life. He shook himself out of it after a while.

“Yeah, I figured, half-pint,” Tony said, “not many you sized people running around my tower, gotta admit, I like being on this side of the equation for once, I feel very high and mighty,” he said, squaring his shoulders, “is this where that holier-than-thou attitude comes from, Cap? Being tall?” then he shook his head, “No, can’t be, I’m taller in the suit. Anyway, need a hand?” he grinned, waving at Steve with the prosthetic.

Steve didn’t bristle at the comment about his attitude, even if he really, really wanted to. Bucky called it sexual frustration. Steve was inclined to agree. He’d like to get very, very angry with Tony and then have it dissolve into the oblivion of mutual—okay, not having those thoughts right now.

“No, but I think Bucky might,” he said with a tight smile.

“Right, I can take over there, if you wanna get it… on,” he said, tensely, like he was hating himself for making the joke, but couldn’t stop it.

Steve just rolled his eyes, “Ignoring that,” he said, “But I trust you less with cooking than with Bucky,” he added as a prompt to be to one to instruct baby-Bucky on how his arm would work.

He blinked back at Steve for a moment and said, “You know they are both equally flammable, given my track record?”

To which Sam yelled, “Please don’t talk about lighting children on fire!”

“I’m not,” Tony defended, “Just letting Steve know what a hell of a gamble that is,” he grinned and finally entered the kitchen instead of loitering in the hallway.

“I think you can manage not to set our teammate on fire, also _, language_ ,” he said, noticing Bucky’s wide-eyed look.

Tony snickered, “Alright then, your call, Cap,” he said, “You ready, Bucky-boy?” to which baby-Bucky nodded excitedly.

“Great, Happy is on the way with something for you to wear that’s not… that,” he motions vaguely at the over-sized scrubs the kid’s wearing. “Alright, arm up,” he said and helped pull the dress length shirt up over Bucky’s head.

Steve was watching out of the corner of his eye as he cooked. Bucky’s face distorted and his eyes welled up with tears at the site of the mangling scars at his shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” he said, “Arms fall off, it happens, nothing to cry about, just look the other way,” turning Bucky’s head away with a hand on his head.

“Tony!” Sam scolded.

The genius shrugged and ignored him, making Steve roll his eyes. Steve had to turn back to the stove, straining the pasta in the sink. When he looked back over, the prosthetic was suited to Bucky’s side, a strap up over his shoulder and two thick straps across his chest.

Tony tucked two fingers under one strap, “deep breath,” he told Bucky, who did as asked. Tony adjusted the strap.

“Alright, you can get it wet, but don’t soak it in water for any length of time, take it off to sleep, or whenever you want, really. Jarvis can walk you through reattaching the sensors whenever you put it back on, since it’s a rudimentary version of him that’s working in your arm anyway. He’ll let me know if you have any problems. Check that the straps are not restricting breathing every time you put it on, lord knows Cap is going to try and fatten you up over the next few days. Sensations will feel more like vibrations then anything because it’s non-invasive, so I guess practise before you pick up anything breakable,” he stood up, “Or don’t, doesn’t matter to me”.

Bucky just stared between him and the arm, with wide confused eyes.

Tony sighed, “Just ask the robot in the ceiling what to do,” he said, “He controls the arm”.

“Really? Wowee, Mista Stark, this is just the neatest thing! Thank you, sir!” Bucky gushed.

“Sure, sure, okay lift both arms,” Tony directed.

Bucky squealed with delight when both arms raised.

“Stand on one foot, how’s your balance?”

“Are we playin’ Simon says?” Baby-Bucky grinned, standing on one foot, “Oh man, this feels great! I felt like I was fallin’ over ever since I woke up, but this is way better! You’re the bee’s knee’s Mista Stark!” Bucky grinned.

Tony tried to hide a smile, but couldn’t help muttering, “ _the bee’s knees’_ ” quietly to himself with an amused fascination like the others did.

“Alright you’re all set, kid,” Tony said, “I’m off,” Tony called louder to the room.

“Not staying for dinner?” Steve asked, disappointed. He knew baby-Bucky would love Tony, and Steve was making Tony’s favourite pasta dish, hoping he’d stay. Tony had taught him the recipe one night, just the three of them.

Tony looked torn, glancing at the team and then back at Steve, “Nah, I’ll uh, eat later—busy, and all that,” he said. He did come into the kitchen and grab a mug of coffee though.

“Wait,” Steve said when he turned to leave, hand darting out to grab for his wrist, only to drop it the moment Tony turned wide, confused eyes on him, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have… Sorry, I know you’re busy, I won’t keep you… from work,” he stumbled.

Tony blinked, then, without the grinning smile that usually accompanies that tone, said, “Why captain, for a moment there it looked like you wanted me to stay,” all light and teasing, but his face was serious.

“That uh, that would be because I do,” Steve said, voice wavering, “You know, uh, Bucky’s gonna ask about the robots, and he talks so fast, you might be the only other person who can keep up,” he adds.

There’s tension between them and Steve doesn’t know what to do to diffuse it. It’s not aggression. It’s not… bad. They’re standing too close together, neither having moved since Steve stepped forward to stop Tony, who really hadn’t even moved away so they were just too far in the others space. They weren’t touching, and Steve’s grateful because he’s not sure what he’d do if they were.

“Food ready?” Sam called from the other room and they both startled away.

Tony stays, but he sits far away from Steve. Bucky though, Bucky sits right next to Tony, which is actually pretty normal, except now he talks his ear off the whole time.

“Are you Italian?” he asks at one point, which startles everyone, “Not ta be rude or nothin’, just that Steve said it’s your favourite, and it’s just like this pasta that I had one time at my pal Carlo’s house, he’s Italian, his pa taught us this card game, I can’t remember the rules though—thought maybe you’d know it,” Bucky went on.

Tony blinks, “Here I thought you’d be asking me about my robots,” he finally says, “But sure, if you wanna play cards, I probably know a few games”.

“Is there such thing as robots that plays cards?!” Bucky squeals.

“There wasn’t, but there’s about to be,” Tony says, serious as can be.

Bucky barely sits still for the remaining of the meal.

The thing is, Steve never told baby-Bucky that the pasta dish was Tony’s favourite. Tony had told adult-Bucky and Steve together. Steve started to wonder if maybe some of adult-Bucky’s thoughts were presenting in baby-Bucky too.

“I didn’t realize he was such a nerd,” Sam says, “he’s never living this down—he’s buddying up to Stark,” he snickers.

Confused, Steve almost blurts, ‘ _why is that odd? Bucky loves Tony_ ’ but he managed to catch himself and say, “Why’s that odd? Bucky likes Tony just fine”.

Sam shrugs, “Bucky’s not exactly the most patient person with people who aren’t you, Steve,” he points out, “And Tony doesn’t really nurture that trait in people”.

Steve supposed. Tony didn’t exactly breed patience in Steve either.

When the team moves into the living room, Tony brings up a holographic screen and Steve’s pretty sure everyone else had been replaced. It was all, “Oh wow, Mista Stark!” and “Golly, you’re some smart Mista Stark!” and “Holy smokes,” and “applesauce,” to combat every “hell,” and “shit” that Tony lets slip coming from their end of the couch.

Bucky is practically in Tony’s lap, and when Tony starts designing a robot to play cards, Bucky really does cross from the occasional brushed shoulder and leaning into Tony’s space, to full on cuddling. Wiggling until Tony wraps an arm around him and has the holograph in front of them both.

It’s adorable and Steve loves it more than he should.

“Bucky’s going to hide in his room for weeks after this,” Natasha says from behind Steve.

Steve chuckles, “Yeah, he’s going to redouble his dark and brooding vibe for sure,” he agrees.

Bucky has an ‘image’ he likes to present. It doesn’t usually involve cuddling and saying things like ‘Golly, Mista’.

Steve got the packages from Happy at the door. The other man took one look at Bucky and said, “Nope, done with Tony’s stray kids,” and turned around and left. Steve didn’t really know what that was about, so he left it be.

By that point it was eight o’clock and the sun was nearly down.

“Think it’s time for baby-Bucky to go to sleep?” he asks Natasha, “I don’t know how kids work,” he admitted.

“Me either,” she shrugged.

“Now would be an appropriate time for sleep, Captain Rogers,” Jarvis told them.

Which then begged the question on where the hell he was supposed to sleep. They all had a spare room in their apartments on the floor below the common room. Tony had several in the penthouse, he’s pretty sure—not that Steve’s been up there much. He doesn’t think Tony’s been up there much since Pepper left, if he’s honest. The couch in the workshop looks way more worn out then it did when the Avenger’s first arrived and Pepper was still around. The pillow and throw blanket were a good indication too. It made sitting there, sketching or planning or just talking to Tony while the other man worked feel oddly intimate since Steve knew he was basically sitting in Tony’s bed.

When they asked Bucky whose apartment he’d like to try out, he predictably said, “Mista Stark! Can I stay with you?”

Tony looked very caught off guard, “Uh, there’s no one in my apartment,” he said, “Are kids allowed to be by themselves like that?” he asked, looking to Steve for help.

“Well you’d be there, wouldn’t ya Mista Stark?”

Tony blinked at him, “No,” he said, “It’s the future, you think I waste time sleeping? No, of course not. I’ll be in my lab for the next… ever,” he mumbled that last part.

“Oh,” baby-Bucky said, sadly.

“You’re free to stay there, if you want—I guess you could bring one of the team up with you,” Tony shrugged, “Lot’s of space, no weapons to hurt yourself with—We all know there’s knives in every corner of everyone else’s apartment,” Tony pointed out, “Huh, imagine that. I have a child-safe house,” he grinned, “Look at how responsible I am!”.

“The only reason the penthouse isn’t weaponized is because you don’t go in it,” Steve pointed out with a frown.

“Says the guy who spent two years living in a shoebox he had to duck to go inside while there was a perfectly good, state-of-the-art apartment set up here,” Tony shot back.

“It wasn’t a shoebox, it’s called modesty,” Steve replied, feeling himself rise to the bait.

“Well I’m glad I could finally convince you to drop the modest act, spangles,” Tony argued.

“ _Boys,_ ” Natasha cut in, “If you two start arguing now, this is going to be an even shittier week for us all,” she said.

Which was true. Steve and Tony could not afford to start bickering now. Without Bucky, they were likely to be at each other’s throats the whole time. Arguing over nothing when Bucky’s been gone for maybe six hours did not bode well for the next few days.

“Guess that’s my cue to get out of here then,” Tony smirked, sharp. “Kid’s free to stay in the penthouse or whatever. I won’t be up there for anything,” he said giving a meaningful look at Steve.

“I’ll stay with Bucky there, then,” he said.

It would be better then spending the next few weeks sleeping in the bed he shared with Bucky alone. He thought maybe Tony was thinking the same thing, hence the meaningful look.

Tony and Steve argued a lot, but… Steve kind of only did it because he liked having Tony’s attention. He liked being the only person Tony bickered with. It never seemed to carry over, not for either of them. Tony was a complex guy, and it had taken Steve a long time to learn what it all meant when it came to Tony.

A bickering argument, just there to hide the kind gesture. Harsh words, a harsher tone, meant to hide his caring nature.

Bucky was still a little sad that Tony wouldn’t be there, but that was quickly quelled when they arrived to the penthouse and Bucky was completely blown away by the shiny home. He ran all around, pressed his face up to the glass, opened the fridge, played with the toaster—he was even more excitable than he’d been with the team downstairs.

It took a _long_ time to get him to sleep.

“Steve? Will you tell me a story?” he only asked four more times after the first one.

“Will you hold my hand?”

“Will you stay a little longer?”

“Will you lay with me?”

“Are we friends?”

Steve ended up laying in the big bed with him for a while, rubbing slow circles in Bucky’s back. He fell asleep under the sensation not long after and Steve grinned. He used to be like that, falling asleep so quickly as long as Steve was touching him. When they were young, not much older than this tiny Bucky, they’d have sleepovers and Steve would always wake up to Bucky pulling Steve on top of him, using the blond as an extra blanket.

Steve ended up falling asleep after a while too, but he woke not too much later.

He called the team up to talk about a game plan, Natasha made fun of the pillow creases on his cheek. Tony wasn’t there.

“I think he still has some memories of his adult self,” Steve expressed the concern.

“You think?”

“Well, he’s clinging to me even though he doesn’t know much about me,” he explained, “And that thing about dinner being Tony’s favourite… I didn’t tell him that, Tony did, weeks ago”.

“So now we need to worry about a seven-year-old with PTSD?” Clint asked with a cringe.

“I have Jarvis monitoring him for nightmares,” Steve said, as he always did, “It might just be that the spell’s already wearing off though?” he tried.

There were some skeptic looks, but over all no one had much more to say.

“We need to come up with a plan for going out in the field,” Steve then said.

“A rotation, I guess,” Sam said, “Or leave him with Bruce?” since the scientist was the least likely to get called out anyway.

“No,” Bruce said, “I don’t trust myself around children—I’d never forgive myself if something happened,” he was adamant that they did not leave Bucky in his care.

They settled on a rotation system. One Avenger would stay back with Bucky, a different one every time so the press wouldn’t start wondering too hard if this went on for too long. Of course, there was already speculation on what had happened to the Winter Soldier, but if they could keep that to a minimum, hopefully they could get away with out having to do a press conference.

Bucky did wake up with a nightmare that night.

“Bucky, buck, what’s wrong?” Steve was saying, running into the room he was staying in, adjacent to Steve’s own.

“I—I don’t know!” he cried, “I don’t know,” he continued to sob against Steve.

“Was… was it a bad dream?” Steve asked quietly, holding the small boy in his arms and running a soothing hand down his back.

“I—I think so,” he whispered, “I—I couldn’t see nuthin’, just… I just so scared, Stevie,” he cried.

Steve felt his heart break at the thought. It was a dream about cryostasis. Bucky had them at least once a week. Something about falling asleep too quickly after a busy day would always trigger dreams of being frozen, his body paralysed, eyes shut, and nothing but an awful sense of fear and confusion as the cold seeped into him like the blanket of sleep.

Steve ended up falling asleep with baby-Bucky sprawled on top of him.

Bucky was subdued the next day. He kept staring off into space with a sad look on his face. It broke Steve’s heart. He still got excited about things like the giant bathtub and infinite hot water, delicious food and the city scape through the windows, but when he wasn’t entertained, he looked so lost.

He was clingy, too. He was avoiding the team the same way adult Bucky did by staying plastered to Steve.

He fell asleep around lunch time.

“What happened?” Natasha asked softly.

Steve sighed, “Nightmares,” he explained, “Cryo, Hydra, it’s not going to be good,” Steve whispered. Bucky was sprawled on top of him, shaggy hair obscuring his features.

She nodded, but there wasn’t much to say, “Bruce is making lunch, maybe see if Stark has something to entertain him,” she suggested.

Steve was pretty sure Tony just being in the room would entertain Bucky, so he asked Jarvis to invite the genius up for lunch.

“What did you need, oh captain, my captain,” he announced when he showed up.

It was followed by several people’s aggressive shushing.

Bucky still roused at the sound of his voice.

“Mista Stark?” he asked, sleepily rubbing his eyes with his flesh hand.

“Hey half-pint,” Tony said, then looked to Steve.

“Hey, I was just wondering if you were coming up for lunch,” Steve said with a smile. Bucky excused himself to the bathroom, stumbling sleepily.

“Lunch?” Tony asked, like the concept was strange.

Steve nodded slowly.

“With… the team?” he asked again.

Steve nodded again.

“Am I supposed to be some Winter Soldier replacement? ‘Cause I’m really not the brooding type—I mean, we share the whole PTSD and trauma thing—but that’s really where the similarities end, and I speak a little Russian, but Nat’s just going to get frustrated if I try and muddle through, you know?”

“What?” Steve asked, feeling his hackles rise once again, now at the mention of Bucky’s trauma (and Tony’s own) in such a flippant way, “No, Tony—come on,” Steve tried not to get argumentative.

“Can you not antagonize Steve for like five minutes, Tony?” Clint sighed, “just talk to Bucky about robots. Kid needs a distraction”.

Steve really missed Bucky right now, if only because he could hear his voice in the back of Steve’s mind right now, telling him that Tony was only antagonizing because he was so shocked by being invited, and whose fault was that but Steve’s own? Steve didn’t miss that the team only wanted Tony around as entertainment for Bucky, either, and that didn’t sit right with Steve or the Bucky-voice in the back of his head.

This is the kind of thing Bucky and Steve argued about. He wasn’t prepared to argue with _himself_ about it.

“You want something flashy to keep robo-baby, busy? Why didn’t you just say so,” he grinned, “Hey kid, you know how to count?” he called to where Bucky was returning to the couch.

“Sure do!” Bucky replied with a grin.

“Great, I built that robot to play Blackjack—he’s obsessed but I keep beating him, you can give it a shot, he’s more your learning level anyway” he said to Bucky, then turned to Clint, “There, ya go, I’ll send up BJ,” he said and turned to leave. No one giggled at the name.

Clint seemed pacified and went back to the kitchen, so Steve went after Tony, “Hey,” he said, but it came out harsher than he meant it.

Tony didn’t even flinch at the tone, “Whatcha need, cap?” he asked.

Tony was in yesterday’s clothes still, his hair sticking up wildly.

“Stay,” he said, softer, “I know you haven’t eaten,” he pointed out.

“Careful,” Tony said, “I might start thinking you care,” and the words were harsh, but he did stay.

Tony taught Bucky how to play blackjack, then watched as “BJ” won against the seven-year-old with a proud expression.

He patted the bot, “You make your daddy proud,” he sighed, “When you’re not being a complete waste of energy,” he added.

After lunch, they all got dealt into a few games. Tony won four, BJ won two, and Natasha won one.

The only thing that was stopping Bucky from crawling into Tony’s lap was card table etiquette.

Afterwards, when it was only Tony and Steve in the kitchen, Tony said, “Hey Cap, I gotta grab something from the penthouse, do you mind?”

“Tony,” Steve said, disappointed he felt he needed to ask, “That’s your house, you don’t need to ask me”.

Tony shrugged, “No, it’s not,” he said, “It’s Peppers,” he explained, “Twelve percent of the tower is hers. That’s her share. She stays there, when she visits”.

“And you sleep in the lab?” Steve asks.

“Well sometimes there’s these two old guys who take pity on me and let me sleep on their couch,” he smiles.

“Well,” Steve chuckles, “They sound like real swell fellas,” he drops in a hint of Brooklyn.

“Aw Cap, breaking out the Brooklyn just for little ol’ me? You sure know how to treat a guy,” he teases.

Steve finds himself blushing in time for Nat to walk in, “Stark, _stop_ antagonizing, Steve,” she hisses, grabbing her glass of water and walking back out in the same moment.

“Wha—” Steve tried to say, because Tony wasn’t. They weren’t arguing. They were… flirting.

“I think that’s my cue again,” Tony smirks, it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Steve’s suddenly thinking about the argument Bucky and Steve were having right before all this, and he’s thinking about every little interaction Tony has had with the team—and there’s not many.

When Tony’s gone and Bucky is blissfully entertained playing cards with BJ, the team is all sprawled across the living room. They’re waiting to bust out the TV for when Bucky really needs a pick-me-up so most of them are reading, on their phones, or in Nat’s case, sharpening her knives. Steve’s sketching a picture of Tony with his arm around baby-Bucky from last night.

“I don’t know why the kid’s gotta pick the two weirdest favourites,” Clint sighs when he sees the image.

“What do you mean?” Steve asks.

“Out of everyone on the team, his two favourite people are the two who can barely be in the same room together,” Clint explains.

Bucky’s voice in the back of Steve’s head is screaming to defend their friendship. Steve _loves_ Tony.

Instead, he thinks back to their argument before Bucky was changed and asks, calm as he can manage, “Is that why you didn’t invite Tony to movie night?”.

Steve had been so sure it was an honest mistake, but Bucky was adamant it was done on purpose. That it had happened before.

“Yeah, man,” Clint says, “It’s hard to decompress with him around, driving everyone crazy”.

Steve is quiet for a long time, thinking over his words. If he rushes to the defensive, they might pick up on Steve’s feelings, but… if he doesn’t say anything—he’s pretty sure that voice in the back of his head might kill him.

“Maybe next time,” he says slowly, “invite him and I could keep my mouth shut instead,” he says, “I’m as much at fault for the bickering as he is”.

“Nah, man,” Sam says, “He makes it a personal mission to piss you off” he shakes his head.

And now Steve feels even worse. Because _Steve_ makes it his personal mission to piss _Tony_ off all the time.

He didn’t realize he was affecting the team so much by doing it. Now, without Bucky to come up behind him and roll his eyes and say, “Either shut up or kiss him, would you?”, Steve has been picking too many fights, he knows.

“I’m sorry we’ve been arguing so much,” Steve says, “I didn’t realize it was upsetting the team,” there’s an unspoken, ‘I’ll stop’ that he’s not sure they hear.

It doesn’t matter, because he doesn’t stop. But the next time they argue it’s not about nothing.

“You could’ve gotten killed, Tony! You could have gotten other people killed!” Steve shouts as they make their way into the common room. Tony’s got a bruise forming on his face, and he’s concussed and Steve’s not letting him out of his god damn sight because Bucky isn’t there to do this the nice way.

“That’s the nature of the game, cap,” he says, uncaring.

“No, that’s the nature of _your_ game, Tony!”

“What do you want me to say? I guarantee I’m not going to say it—but I’d _love_ to know what it is you want from me, Steve,” He hisses.

“I want you to take your safety seriously!”

“I’ll think about it,” Tony grins, filling a plastic bottle with water and turning to leave. If Steve had left it there, they’d be fine by morning—but he can’t leave it there. He never can, not when Tony’s hurt like this.

Steve catches his arm, “You’re not going to the lab,” he says, “You have a concussion”.

“No, back off,” Tony says, serious, “Where the hell would you have me go, Rogers?” he spits, “The empty apartment you’re avoiding so you don’t miss your boyfriend, or my empty bed I’m avoiding so _I_ don’t—” he cuts himself off and instead says, “Let go,” with a jerk of his arm.

“You can sleep on the couch,” Steve grits out, “Just like you always do when you’re avoiding Pepper,” he spits and he doesn’t mean it, but he still says it.

Tony laughs, it’s not a nice sound, “You’re a real piece of work, Rogers,” he says venomously.

The thing is, they would have probably kept going—no one to talk them down—kept shouting until it came to blows or blowjobs and Steve tries not to think too hard about that because they are interrupted by a tiny squeak, and they look over to find baby-Bucky staring wide eyed and afraid.

“Shit,” Tony hisses.

“Bucky,” Steve says, the anger leaving him all at once.

It also draws attention to how the whole team is there too.

“D-Don’t talk to Mista Stark like that!” baby-Bucky yells at him and runs over to Tony.

He knows what this looks like to Bucky.

Tony’s got a bruise on his face, Steve’s making him sleep on the couch, Steve had an iron grip on Tony’s arm and Tony had to jerk himself away.

Bucky wraps himself around Tony and glares daggers at Steve.

“Oh, Bucky,” Steve says, gentling his voice, “That—we… it’s not… _fuck_ ”.

He can tell they are all assessing the seriousness of the situation too, because no one comments on Steve swearing.

He has no idea what to say. ‘It’s not what it looks like’ isn’t something a seven-year-old Bucky’s gonna buy. He’s heard that line before.

“Woah there, half-pint,” Tony says, “Stand down, solider,” he teases, “Steve’s just mad I let the bad guy get a few swings in, that’s all,” he explains, “He had to carry me bridal style half a block, it was very embarrassing,” he rambles to distract Bucky.

Steve tries to appear smaller than he is.

“I hit my head, now Steve wants make sure I’m alright so I can keep kickin’ bad guy ass—that’s why I have to sleep on the couch, make sure I wake up in the morning, all that—you’ve heard the nursery rhyme it was published in 1912, you should be able to figure it out”.

Bucky kept staring at Steve, angry, “I’d never hurt Tony, Bucky—I promise. I… I was just scared because he got hurt,” he admitted.

He’s never admitted that where anyone but Bucky could hear him. Its usually ‘He put himself and the team in danger’ or ‘He doesn’t follow orders, he’s a liability’.

He starts to wonder if it’s his fault the team is so hard on Tony.

Then he wonders when he realized the team is hard on Tony, since that was something Bucky said all the time and Steve always disputed.

“If he’s hurt, he needs a doctor, not you yellin’ at him,” Bucky argues.

Steve smiles, “Would you believe me if I told you that’s what we started yelling about?”.

Bucky tilted his head in silent question.

“Tony didn’t want to go to the doctor, so I tried to convince him and we started yelling…” he said sheepish, “Sometimes Tony and I yell, it’s just what we do”.

“Yeah! I noticed that,” he glared, “Both’a ya’s need’ta be nicer!” he yelled, angry enough that his accent worsened to near unintelligible. He grabbed Tony’s hand, “Now I’m takin’ Mista Stark to see Doctor Bruce!” he declared, “’Cause I have heard’da nurs’ry rhyme,” he said pointedly and tugged on Tony’s hand.

Tony was so blown away (and so was the team) that he allowed himself to be tugged along. Steve followed as if there was an invisible string tying them all together. The elevator ride was silent. Bucky put himself between them, all four feet and fifty pounds of him. He was plastered to Tony’s side, arms wrapped around his waist and head pressed to his ribs.

Tony looked _scared_.

He was also silent through the exam.

“Mista Stark? Are you alright?” Bucky asked, part way through.

“Yet to be determine, half-pint,” he grinned, but his eyes were very far away.

“Tony, are you dizzy or anything? You look like your spacing out,” Steve said.

Tony blinked, and seemed to gather himself, “All good, Cap,” he said, “Bruce is giving me the all clear to get back out in the field in two days, right Bruce?”

To which Bruce did nod, but looked unhappy about it, “You’re also dehydrated, Tony,” Bruce said.

“Jarvis, put a pot of coffee on, would you?” He grinned.

“Coffee does not replenish electrolytes, to the best of my knowledge,” the AI says primly, “Perhaps I will have DUM-E and U take apart the coffee machine to be sure,” he adds.

“Traitor,” Tony says under his breath.

Bucky doesn’t leave Tony’s side. Steve’s really starting to worry about how much adult Bucky is shining through right now, but he’s not sure how to voice his concerns. Especially when Bucky likes to keep his feelings about Tony to himself. He can’t exactly say ‘ _I think there’s some Winter Soldier emotions in that seven-year-old baby because he’s defending Tony like it’s his job and my boyfriend takes that job more serious than death_ ’ and not accidentally out Bucky as having real emotions.

Bucky convinces Tony to come sleep on the couch, promises to stay up the whole night with him to wake him up periodically like Bruce said, only to fall asleep on Tony’s chest fifteen minutes into Tony talking about computers.

Steve takes him to bed about a half hour later.

Steve gets up to check on Tony himself, but every time he does, Tony’s been sitting up and working.

Steve also has to run to Bucky’s room twice and its only two in the morning.

“You know, you _can_ sleep. I just have to wake you up,” he says slyly to Tony.

The genius smiles, “Can I?” he asks, like he really doesn’t believe it’s possible. Maybe for Tony, it isn’t.

Steve sits down, “I think between checking on you, and Bucky’s nightmares, I should just stay awake,” he muses.

“I’m not going to fall asleep, Steve.” Tony says, “go to bed,” he bumps him with his foot.

“I’m not going to sleep, I’ll feel left out,” Steve teases.

“Don’t tell me you don’t get nightmares, too,” Tony huffs.

“True,” he answers, “But I can never scream myself awake, so I guess I don’t worry so much,” he admits.

“I don’t scream,” Tony lies.

“You both do,” he says gently. There had been a night when Tony came by and the three of them watched a movie, Tony fell asleep halfway through, woke up with a shout. Steve convinced him to stay till it was over and in that time Bucky fell asleep too. He woke screaming. It had been a weird night. No one wanted to talk about it.

“It’s harder, here,” Tony says, “the nightmares are worse”.

Steve thinks it might be a continuation of an earlier conversation. Bucky had asked why Tony was sleeping on the couch, since there was another bedroom. “It’s my friends room, she’s a real lady—wouldn’t like me sleeping in her bed” was his response.

Steve’s not sure the last time Pepper even came around. Doesn’t see a single trace of her in the house. He’s not sure there ever really was.

“I dream about her dying, because of me. Her getting hurt,” he says. He’s tweaking baby-Bucky’s prosthetic arm, using it to hide his fidgeting.

“It’s funny, because I never had dreams like that when we were together, which is even funnier because that’s why she left,” he says, a bit nonsensically.

“What?” Steve asks.

“I didn’t care, when we were together, about making it home to her, or about keeping her safe,” he says, “I didn’t care when she left,” he adds and then sighs, “That’s all this place reminds me of. Is that I didn’t care enough about her,” Tony says, “I don’t avoid it because I miss her, I avoid it because I don’t. The nightmares are just to remind me of that, I guess, irony, har har,” he huffs.

He grins over a Steve, “To clarify for the next time we argue about nothing”.

Steve huffs a laugh. He’s so very Tony.

“I’ll remember that the next time I’m jumping down your throat about the placement of your hair, or whatever we were fighting about,” Steve teases.

They drift in companionable silence for a while before Steve says, “I did mean what I said,” softly.

Tony doesn’t appreciate it, though Steve didn’t think he would the first time around. Steve’s not fully sure what he’s trying to say, just hoping that he can say it anyway.

“No offense, Cap, but I just don’t have it in me to go another round,” Tony sighs.

“No, I meant… the other thing,” Steve tries.

“You said a lot of things. I think my favourite was when you insinuated I played for a different team,” he says, “It’s funny, since I play for all the teams, yours included,” he winks, but he winces afterwards with the headache.

Steve smiles and shakes his head, but soldiers on, “I meant… that I was only mad because—”.

“Because I fucked up, I got it,” Tony breezes, “I could have put a lot of people in danger if it didn’t work,” he shrugged, “I ran the numbers,” he justifies.

“Stop,” Steve says, “You know that’s not what I mean”.

“Do I?” Tony asks, and in an unusual display of wisdom and maturity, says, “Sometimes I don’t think you even know what you mean,” he says, but it’s gentle.

A long moment passes, “You might be right,” Steve admits.

Steve is staring at Tony. He’s not sure when it happened. Tony had his back to the arm of the couch with his legs extended outwards. He’s pulled them up to sit criss-cross when Steve approached. Now Steve was turned towards him with a leg tucked under himself. They’re sitting close, but not so close that it’s unnoticed when Steve leans further into the space.

Tony blinks, but pays more attention to the arm in his lap.

The bruise on his cheek is less noticeable now in the dark. Tony’s bottom lip is always a shape pinker than the top, and it’s got a pouty shape. Not as pouty as Bucky’s mouth, which begs to be kissed, but instead Tony’s is a temptation. His lips don’t ask to be kissed, but boy, does he want to do it anyway.

“Uh, cap?” Tony says, “eyes are up here,” he comments.

Steve feels heat rise in his cheeks, “Shit,” he curses quietly to himself for being caught.

“It’s cool, I know I’m a snack,” he grins, “That’s what the kids call it, I find it’s pretty accurate,” he says offhandedly.

“I’m sorry, I don’t... I uh,” Steve scrambled to explain himself.

“Hey, you might be dating a super-soldier, but I’m still voted most eligible bachelor under fifty this year, so I can’t blame you for looking,” he grins, smug.

“I’m sorry, I—I don’t know why I... I never…” he cuts himself off from saying, ‘I’d never do that without talking to Bucky first’ but he’s pretty sure the stuttered mess of words he does get out leave Tony thinking something entirely different.

“Never looked before? Well, billionaires in sweatpants, it’s a thing”

“Oh my god,” Steve says to himself under his breath, “Bucky’s been gone a few days,” he curses, “I spent years without him and I… jesus, I’m so sorry, Tony,” he says that last part for him to hear.

Steve suspects he heard all of what he just said, but likely has no idea what he means.

Years he pined after Tony and did nothing because he was grieving Bucky. Years he pined after Tony alongside Bucky. He had never come even remotely close to _kissing_ him before. Or getting _caught_.

Tony’s grinning at him, “Never been checked out by the pinnacle of human perfection,” he says, “That does things to my ego, you know,” he winks.

 _Oh_ , Steve thinks, _if only you knew_. Bucky can’t make it through a day without talking about Tony’s ass. It’s ridiculous but Steve does it too.

“I’m never living this down,” he sighs, hanging his head.

“Yeah, no, I’m never mentioning this again,” Tony laughs, “Contrary to popular belief, I value my life and your boyfriend is an assassin,” he teases.

Steve smiles and shrugs, “I don’t think he’d kill me for looking,” he says.

“Might kill me, though,” Tony says offhandedly.

Steve doesn’t know what to say to that, but he doesn’t need to, since he hears Bucky scream in the other room and quickly excuses himself to sooth him.

Bucky doesn’t want to sleep alone, but Steve still has to check on Tony, and so a compromise is made.

A few couch cushions on the floor of the living room and Bucky’s out like a light.

Steve falls asleep briefly when he’s laying on the floor next to him and rubbing his back again. He wakes up twenty minutes later to Tony snickering.

“You took a picture,” Steve mumbles without opening his eyes.

“Many,” Tony replies, but tosses a pillow at him.

Steve goes back to sleep for an hour.

“Sleep,” he demands when Tony’s still awake.

“Maybe I did,” he counters.

“Sleep,” Steve says again and gets more comfortable on the ground.

Tony is asleep at five-thirty, and according to Jarvis has only been for fifteen minutes. Steve goes to the gym to run away from his feelings for forty-five, and then wakes Tony gently.

Tony jolts awake, “Who the fuc—” and then realizes it’s Steve, “Asshole,” he says, “Told me to sleep just to wake me up? Rude,” but his eyes flutter shut and he’s asleep again.

Steve finds himself drawing them in hues of yellow from the apartment Steve and Bucky shared in the forties for some reason, even if the lighting in the penthouse is a cool grey-blue.

Tony’s sprawled on the couch, one leg hanging off the edge and with an arm tossed over his eyes. He has his face turned towards the back of the couch, obscuring his features in sharp shadows. Bucky has two cushions from the other couch, but he’s curled up into a ball so tightly, he only takes up one. He has his arm extended out towards Tony like he wants to grab his hand the way he and Steve used to sleep when they were young.

The day is relatively good. Bucky was kept busy with a holographic tablet Tony gave him. He was building holographic skyscrapers he saw from the tower and knocking them over like Jenga pieces.

“What are we going to do if we get called out today or tomorrow?” Natasha asks around noon, “Tony’s off duty and that means we’re down three people if an attack comes”.

“Three?” Steve asks, “Tony can look after Bucky even with a concussion, Nat—It’s not like Bucky’s rambunctious”.

“You don’t seriously trust Stark to look after Bucky, do you?” Sam says, squinting at him.

“Yeah, no offense Cap, but Bucky still needs help reaching the sink, and Tony’s not the most trustworthy baby-sitter,” Clint says.

“What do you mean? Tony’s fine to look after Bucky,” Steve finds himself defending.

“Tony can barely look after himself, Steve,” Nat says.

It’s everything Bucky’s been talking about for months now. It’s made so blaringly obvious that Steve wonders if maybe Bucky’s been vetting some of the team’s harsher opinions. In fact, he’s almost positive he has, what with the way Tony seems almost afraid to come to team activities now that Steve’s been the one asking him to.

It also makes him wonder just how much of the teams behaviour is because of Steve being oblivious to it.

Of course, it’s the moment Steve draws himself to full height and levels the team with a stern look that Tony comes in and he doesn’t notice, “Tony is a valuable member of this team, and one I trust with my life, and Bucky’s,” he says, voice strong, “If that’s not something we can all agree on, you should take it up with me instead of making backhanded comments about your teammate”.

“Wow, Steve,” Tony’s voice says from behind him, “I’m into this whole, angry schoolteacher thing you got going on,” he teases, lightly.

Steve’s suddenly angry at Tony too, though in that way he knows that it’s anger towards himself more than anything. He’s angry because he should have noticed the team’s low opinion of Tony, but also that Tony never fucking told him. Then again, Bucky had told him, and he never listened.

He follows Tony into the seclusion of the kitchen. Wonders why it’s always here. Wonders about bending Tony over the counter and burying his face in his—anyway.

It’s clear Steve’s not the only one angry, and yeah—Steve didn’t ever expect Tony to react well to Steve fighting a battle for him.

Tony whirls on him, “Coming to back me up against the team, Cap? We’re not kids, grandpa, I can handle myself” he spits.

“Can you?” Steve shoots back, “How come you haven’t ever talked to me about this? Did you know about this?”

“Do I know that your team hates me? Yeah, Steve, I noticed. Didn’t you?” he hisses.

It hurts because he didn’t. Tony knows he didn’t, right?

“No, no I didn’t, Tony,” Steve says.

“Guess not, your heads too far up your ass” Tony says scathingly.

“Is it that I have my head up my ass, or is it that you’re too much a lone-wolf to do something about it?” Steve demands.

“I can fight my own damn battles, Steve. Who says I do it alone, anyway?”.

“Right, so Bucky can stand up for you, but I can’t?”

“No, Steve you can’t. You make a poor imitation of your boyfriend. He’s small you know, not _dead_ , no need to replace him just yet,” he hisses.

It’s more than just about Steve butting into Tony’s argument. It’s a stab at Steve’s behaviour, his staring at Tony’s mouth, his requests for Tony to be around, their flirting the other day. It’s a lot like how things were before Bucky came back, and Steve didn’t notice it until now.

He thinks about how Tony and Steve might have had something one day—how there was something growing between them that abruptly died the moment Bucky came back into the picture.

For the first time he thinks about how Tony must have felt, left forgotten as soon as Steve heard Bucky’s name.

Now… Now Bucky’s temporarily unavailable and Steve’s trying to make that dead thing grow and wow, he is a piece of work, isn’t he? He suddenly has no fight left in him.

He doesn’t know what to say. The silence must have prompted Natasha to come check up on them as it drags on for so long.

If he looks half as defeated as he feels, he might understand why Natasha thinks she should call out Tony again “What is wrong with you, Stark? Bucky’s not here to scare you away so you have to pick a fight every chance you get?”.

Tony doesn’t rise to the bait, even though he had been glaring at Steve the whole time. Instead, the anger disappears, and Tony starts to laugh, and laugh. He pats Natasha on the shoulder, still snickering to himself and goes out to the living room.

It takes Steve a moment, but he starts to laugh to, and follows him out to plop down on the couch beside him, “Oh, we’re hopeless without our referee, aren’t we?” Steve chuckles to Tony.

They both sigh into the couch. Ignoring the team, and each other for the most part.

“Just kiss already,” baby-Bucky says.

Tony makes a choked off, mini-heart attack sound. Steve does too, he thinks. Hard to hear over his heart suddenly pounding in his chest at the thought.

“Wha?” Tony stutters.

“That’s obviously what’s goin’ on. Ma says kids are mean to each other when they like ‘em. That’s why my new pal Steve’s givin’ me the cold shoulder,” he explains.

Steve blushes at that, though he’s not sure why.

“Remember when I said you were smart? I take it back,” Tony says to Bucky who just shrugs and grins.

“Uh… No… That’s not…” Steve stumbles to explain.

“Steve has a boyfriend,” Tony blurts, “and I…. exist,” he mutters, unsure.

“Oh,” Bucky says, “Then you should marry me when I’m an adult again,” he says to Tony.

Tony has another mini heart attack. So does Steve.

“Oh god,” Steve groans and covers his face with his hands.

Tony’s looking between the two of them like they’re a puzzle and it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out.

“Please don’t remember any of this later, please don’t remember any of this later,” Steve chants under his breath, thinking of the mortification Bucky will feel.

Baby-Bucky takes Tony’s silence as consent to crawl into his lap and snuggle up under his chin. It’s adorable, and Steve’s heart can barely take it.

“I wanna marry you, Mista Stark,” he says, “I asked my pal Steve to marry me the other day, he got real mad about it and called me a bad word, but ma’ says it just ‘cause he don’t know any better. You know everything, right Mista Stark?” he rambles.

“Oh my god,” Tony breathes.

“Are we best friends when I’m big?” he asks.

Tony chokes for a second, but ultimately says, “Yeah, we’re pretty good friends,” he says, “You… let me sleep on your couch sometimes,” he admits, “and sometimes you sleep on my couch, in the lab,” he adds.

“Let’s get married then,” he insists and Tony looks utterly terrified even as he supports Bucky’s small frame in his arms.

He’s looking around the room like that might hold the answers he needs. Natasha still looks pissed at him, but Bruce and Clint look ready to piss themselves holding back the laughter.

Steve just hangs his head. This is all going to come back for him, he’s sure.

He’s asked them not to tell Bucky who he is. Mostly because of this… right here. That particular question. ‘Did we get married?’ and Steve dreaded telling him ‘No, you asked two more times but you just never got the timing right’ and seeing the disappointment there. Now Tony’s in a very weird position with Bucky, who in adult form would probably love to marry him, but would die before he said it out loud.

“Uh, I consider myself married to my work?” Tony tried, “I’ll… take a rein cheque on that, alright?” he settles.

Even if Bucky forgets, he might just inform Bucky he’s got that cheque waiting, just to see his face turn pink.

Bucky nods, happy with the compromise and likely praying he remembers everything so he can ask Tony again.

Bucky follows Tony around all day.

“I really do have to go to the lab,” Tony says.

“Take him with you,” Steve suggests.

“He’s… flammable,” Tony points out.

Steve rolls his eyes, “I’ll come too,” he promises.

Tony insists on eye protection and a lab coat for Bucky, even though Tony doesn’t even wear shoes in the lab most of the time, and he sleeps down here in his underwear (and what a pleasant surprise that had been).

Bucky is enamoured by the other bots, and BJ with his slighter frame had been making fast friends with his new brothers. Soon Tony will have a lab full of card-counters to rob the team with at blackjack.

Bucky’s face has left an impression on the glass of the Iron Man armour’s pod, and Bucky begged for ten minutes straight to touch it. Tony caves after a silent staring contest, but they both look like the won and Steve’s not sure he understood what happened.

He spends a lot of time looking at the hands before he asks, “Mista Stark? What’s my other arm like?”

“Shit,” Tony says, not bothering to sugar coat it, “It’s… imported,” he says, “It’s awful, huge, heavy, slow, it’s invasive so it has potential for significantly more pressure and temperature feedback, but the asshole who made it didn’t bother, it’s always breaking, so I know damn well how it’s wired and that is to say, it’s wired poorly. Thing weighs eleven pounds more than the flesh arm, it’s terrible,” he rants.

Bucky seems surprised, “Why didn’t you make it?” he asks.

“You’ve had it longer than we’ve known each other. I offered a replacement, you said no,” he says simply, “Also, do not climb on that,” he adds, seeing Bucky rolling over a stool.

Steve didn’t know about that. Bucky… _hated_ his arm. It hurt him so much, and yet… Tony had offered to replace it and Bucky said no? That didn’t sound like Bucky.

Then again, when Bucky asked six-year-old Steve Rogers to marry him, he’d called him a ‘bad word’ and ran away. Maybe Tony just had to ask a few more times.

Bucky’s discovered he can play Blackjack with all the bots now, since Tony relieved them of their actual jobs for that express reason.

“I can’t believe you turned down Bucky Barnes’ hand in marriage, Steve,” Tony teases while Bucky is out of ear shot.

“Three times, actually,” Steve admits.

Tony tilts his head, “Are you insane?” he asks casually.

“Jury’s out,” Steve teases, “He’s really bad at proposing,” he informs, “The first time, he’d spoken about ten words to me. Some bullies were heckling me and I told ‘em off in all my three feet and thirty pound glory,” Steve laughs, “Bucky was a year ahead of me in school, so we hadn’t seen much of each other. He scares off the kids and says, ‘wow, kid, you got guts, let’s get married,’ which was very frowned upon, and I did not handle it well,” Steve smiles.

“That’s sickening,” Tony says, “Absolutely sickening. Tell me more,” he grins.

“The next time was the first time he’d ever got drunk,” Steve sighs, “I couldn’t drink—I was way too sick for that, but he went out one night, and he came back to my place since his ma woulda smacked him stupid and mine was workin’ late at the hospital. He had… lipstick everywhere,” Steve hesitates, since this was sort of Bucky’s coming out story—but then he looks at how he’s got Tony’s full attention and he can’t help but continue. “I… I wasn’t… accepting of my own, or Bucky’s sexuality at first. We really were just friends for most of our lives, but Bucky isn’t like uh… you and me, he’s… well he really doesn’t like women,” he laughs, “But he _tried_ was what he told me, and he showed up, wasted, laughing about how awful it was, and he looked at me and said he really didn’t care if I punched him, but one day, he was going to marry me and he didn’t much care if I was still pretending I didn’t want to. He was going to drag me to some church… in the future and he was going to marry me,” he laughs, “then he threw up in the stairwell and passed out in my kitchen,” he finished.

“So, moral of that story is that I need to get Bucky drunk,” Tony nods.

Steve laughs, “Yeah, he could use a drink these days,” he admits.

Baby-Bucky lets out a laugh. He’s playing ball with the bots, teaching BJ how to hold the new shape.

“So, what about the third time?” Tony prompts.

Steve frowns, “When I rescued him from Zola in Azzano,” Steve says, “He, uh… he was delirious,” he says, “Never asked again, and uh—now it’s… complicated,” Steve says.

Complicated because they were both in love with Tony now, too.

“Yeah, those are three _awful_ proposal stories,” Tony grins, drawing out the ‘awe’ in ‘awful’ and Steve realises his Brooklyn is showing a little. Not as bad at angry Bucky, or sleepy Bucky, or horny Bucky, and definitely no where near as bad as baby-Bucky. But it’s there.

Steve blushes, “Shut up, it’s not that bad,” he says.

“I think baby-Bucky must be bringing it out,” Tony comments, “You weren’t so controlled and proper-like when we were arguing earlier,” he says.

It makes Steve blush more because that accent only comes out for Bucky, and rarely at that. It comes out at very, very specific times when Bucky does something very, very specific with his tongue.

It also reminds Steve of the jab Bucky made before this all started. Controlled and proper-like was Bucky’s way of saying that Steve was acting like he knew better than everyone else, and he needed to take himself down a notch less Bucky do it for him.

It came from their first argument after they formed the Howling Commandos, and Steve was made Captain. He had just gone through months of training his accent away, and Bucky hated it. Hated it as much as he hated Steve using his rank and obligation to the army for why he turned Bucky down even though he had a tent to himself.

Steve was just scared shitless of getting caught, but… maybe he was just scared.

Either way, Bucky had spat, “Right, you’re all so _controlled_ and _proper-like_ now. Can’t be seen slummin’ it wit’ me no more, huh _Captain_?”.

Controlled, because Bucky was terrified and desperate and shaking when Steve turned him down.

Proper-like, because Bucky caught him looking at Peggy Carter too many times.

Steve has a long track record for fucking things up, he’s starting to realise.

He has no idea how to fix it.


	2. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters, one for each of these dumbasses. :) Hope you enjoy!

Baby, Brooklyn Bucky is the cutest thing that Tony has seen in his life. He hates it.

He can’t wait for regular sized Bucky to come back.

Actually, he’s a lot more torn than he’d like to be on that matter.

He loves adult-Bucky. That’s fact. Bucky is dark and brooding around the team and shy and nervous around Tony when he gets him alone. Bucky smiles these pouty, sly little smirks with flushed red cheeks and _that’s_ actually the cutest thing Tony’s ever seen. He can go from mean, growling assassin to shaking shoulders as he’s wracked with a fit of giggles in ten seconds flat because Bucky Barnes does not laugh. He giggles.

He’s beautiful, just like his boyfriend.

Bucky can read Tony and Steve like the back of his hand. Tony gets how he reads Steve so well—they spent their lives together. He’s confused about how Bucky’s figured out Tony so well, though. It took Steve years.

Steve says Tony and Bucky are a lot a like.

Sometimes Tony wonders if that’s why Tony and Steve struggled so much in the beginning, and why later, fighting turned to flirting.

When Bucky got back in from the cold, flirting turned straight back to fighting—now with a vengeance it seemed.

Without Bucky around to keep Steve and Tony in line, they’ve been at each other’s throats just like the good ol’ days.

That’s not to say they don’t still fight, even when Bucky’s around. They do, but Bucky’s the only one of the three of them who actually knows when to back down. He plays referee a lot.

Bucky says Tony and Steve are a lot a like.

Sometimes Tony wonders if that’s why Tony and Bucky didn’t seem to struggle so much in the beginning, not like Bucky struggled with the rest of the team.

Bucky still hasn’t opened up around the team. Still, they have welcomed Steve’s boyfriend into their ranks without hesitation. Bucky is the only one hesitating. Tony’s never seen him laugh (read: giggle) around the team. At least not until now.

Hence some of Tony’s confliction about baby-Bucky.

It’s nice to see a version of Bucky that’s open and talkative and emotive. On the other hand, he looks at this kid and he knows how it all ends.

Reminds him of himself, in a way.

Tony was a happy kid, for a while. He stopped being a happy kid when he was about six, but still. He remembers that carefree feeling of childhood, remembers crawling into Jarvis’ lap for a cuddle or a story the same way baby-Bucky does.

But he knows how it ends. For Bucky, and for himself.

He’s also conflicted because of Steve. Which isn’t ever a new feeling, really—but it’s tied in here too.

Steve’s been… he wants to say _clingy_. He’s not, really. He thinks he’s probably just lonely. He seems to have drifted away from the team since Bucky’s been back, probably because Bucky doesn’t like the others very much (which is a whole other confusing thing) and so without Bucky he seems to want Tony around.

Which is fine. Tony loved Steve. That’s a fact.

Tony isn’t exactly loved by the team though, and with Bucky around—Tony never had to be around the team to get in some quality time with his two favourite super-soldiers. Steve’s not as perceptive though. Never has been, according to Bucky. Steve doesn’t notice that there’s tension between Tony and the team. At least he didn’t until now. Between baby-Bucky and lonely Steve, Tony’s seen more of the team these last few days then he usually does in a month.

Which is fine. But it’s not fine because Steve.

Tony’s loved Steve for a long goddamn time. He never expected anything to come of it, and of course, nothing did. It still stung when Bucky came back into the picture and Tony was not only cast aside by Steve, but the whole damn team. Mostly it was Steve though, and the way he didn’t even trust Tony to help him track down the guy really stuck home that Tony was not only _not_ an official member of the team, but not Steve’s friend either.

But Steve is a goddamn idiot. Sometimes Tony couldn’t stand him. Honestly, right now, Tony’s not sure if Steve’s just oblivious, or if he’s doing this shit on purpose to piss Tony off. He’s not sure which one of those things hurts more, and he tries not to think about it.

Tony never expected having Captain America flirting with him to hurt so god damn much.

Tony’s pissed. Bucky’s been out of commission for a few days, and suddenly Steve is acting like he did before Bucky was around at all. It’s an insult to Bucky, which makes Tony extra pissed off, and it’s an insult to the friendship that Tony _thought_ they had developed since Bucky’s returned.

Worst of it all, is it’s not just flirting.

It’s making Tony’s favourite food, asking him to stay for dinner with the team, asking him to hang out with baby-Bucky, its making Tony think Steve might actually care but never saying the goddamn words.

Tony knows Steve never will. He never knew the absence of words from Steve could hurt this much.

It’s been a while since Tony’s gotten mad enough that he’s hoping it comes to blows between them, but he’s getting there now.

He tries to remind himself the only reason Steve wants him around so much is because they need him to entertain baby-Bucky. He’s doing a pretty good job reminding himself, he thinks.

Then, Bucky’s napping because the kid sleeps like shit with the shadows of nightmares from a life he hasn’t lived yet and Steve _still_ asks Tony to stay for lunch.

Tony should say no. He’s on a hair trigger ready to start demanding Steve explain himself because he’s not going to be some Bucky Barnes stand-in for another two days just to get pushed away the minute that he gets his beef-cake boyfriend back. He can’t. Tony’s great at making himself suffer for no reason, but there’s a line. It would be fine, he thinks, but he’s not letting Steve do that to Bucky.

He still says yes.

Steve’s sitting next to Tony, Sam’s giving him a death glare. Tony wishes Bucky was there to make everyone as uncomfortable as they make Tony.

Bucky’s weirdly protective of Tony’s feelings when it comes to the team, which is odd because he’s pretty sure Steve and the others have either forgotten or just chose not to think about Tony having feelings. Bucky has a very sly and underhanded way of making sure Tony doesn’t know about a lot of what’s said about him. It doesn’t actually work, but like hell would he ever tell Bucky that.

Bucky had asked about the tension between Tony and the team once. Tony had to explain how he was never actually supposed to become an Avenger. Was supposed to be benefactor, sure, and a consultant. Someone to call in as a last resort. He’s just kind of weaseled his way onto the team anyway and Steve hasn’t bothered to mention it.

Since then, Bucky likes to put himself between Tony and the team in this silent and subtle way that even Natasha doesn’t seem to notice.

“You’ll all be happy to know, Steve’s Brooklyn accent isn’t actually gone,” Tony says to diffuse some tension over lunch.

Steve blushes and bumps their shoulders together, “You’re lying,” he teases.

“I never lie, I’m an open book,” Tony retorts.

“An encrypted book, maybe,” Steve says.

Tony shrugs with a grin, he can’t deny that, “Well, I’m open if you wanna study,” he flirts and hates himself for it, but it’s too late to take it back.

Steve opens his mouth with his own retort, but blushes and keeps it to himself. That’s how Tony knows that Steve isn’t as oblivious as he seems. He was going to say something equally as flirty and stopped himself. It makes Tony angry.

Even more so when the team is out of ear shot a while later ad Steve says, “Offer still stand to study?”.

Because of course Steve wouldn’t catch himself about to say something flirty and think ‘oh, that’s a bad idea’ no, no instead he thinks, ‘oh, that’s a bad idea where the team can hear me’ which makes is so, so much worse. It’s fucking scummy, is what it is.

Even more so when Tony says, “For you? Always,” with a wink.

It’s… well, it’s something, isn’t it?

There’s a call from Fury—sensitive information for an upcoming mission. Somehow (because of his concussion), Tony’s the one who ends up staying with Bucky while the others go to meet the pirate for tomorrows mission update.

He’s terrified, but he does alright. Bucky wakes up and asks after Steve, Tony tells him the team will be home in a few hours. Bucky follows him around as he cleans up the kitchen, asking about the bots some more. Kid really likes robots.

Eventually he asks, “Will you take me flying in your Iron Man suit?” which is funny because adult Bucky had the exact same expression on his face the first time he’d seen Tony in action and asked him then too.

Tony knows the team will be pissed.

He does it anyway.

Honestly, they hover less than ten feet from the ground as he takes the squealing kid around the circle of the penthouse terrace.

Tony rolls his eyes to hind his fondness afterwards when Bucky won’t shut up about how much fun it was and how Tony’s his favourite superhero. It does things to Tony heart.

Then he introduces Bucky to dart guns. Tony’s never beat adult-Bucky at this game, despite it being their late-night favourite, so he takes a sick satisfaction in winning this time.

That’s how the team finds them in the gym. Bucky’s distracted by the newcomers, so Tony shoots him in the back of the head.

“Ow!” he shouts, “Not fair!”.

“Everything goes in dart guns, kid, keep up,” he brushed off. “See?” he demonstrates by shooting Steve in the chest, watching with open delight as it bounces off the firm pec.

“Good to see you two have been staying out of trouble,” Steve says with a smile.

Which is when Bucky babbles about flying and how when he’s an adult again, he’s going to get Tony to take him skydiving.

“You took him out in the suit?” Sam asks, incredulous.

“Sure did, kid loved it. I’m his favourite by the way, sorry Captain,” he teases.

“Tony, what the hell! He could have gotten hurt!” Sam demands.

“But he didn’t,” he defends, “Well, he’s going to have a few bruises from the dart guns, but other than that,” he shrugs. He knows there’s no way he wasn’t going to get an earful, so he resigns himself to the fate of it.

“You realize this is why we didn’t want to leave him with you, yeah?” Sam says, like he’s teaching Tony some lesson.

It makes Tony bristle because it’s that holier-than-thou attitude that Steve uses with him, and he doesn’t like it coming from someone else.

“That was insanely irresponsible, Stark”.

“Right, just like it was insanely irresponsible to save all your asses the other day, because oh god, now you have to leave the liability alone with the fragile little tyke. It’s cool. I get it. Next time, instead of doing you any favours, I’ll just let the building fall on you, Sam,” Tony shoots back. There’s less heat in it than if it was aimed at Steve and he tries not to think about that too hard.

Steve looked sharply at Tony, and he was prepared for the argument, but that’s not what happened.

“Sam was on that block?” he asks.

It makes Tony’s rage swell because why the fuck else would he have thrown himself into that collapsing cement wall if there wasn’t someone underneath it?

 _Do you really think so little of me that I would put civilians in danger for no reason?_ Tony thinks about saying, but doesn’t. It’s clear that it’s the case.

“You know what? Doesn’t matter,” Steve shook his head and again, Tony prepares for Steve’s harsh words but they don’t come to him, “I told you I trust Tony with Bucky, and he’s fine,” Steve said, “Back off, Sam. Bucky’s a kid, of course he wants to go flying—it’s a robot”.

Which sounds a whole lot like Steve coming to Tony’s defense and he just can’t take it.

He holds his tongue until Sam and the others take Bucky back upstairs.

He hates that Steve thinks he can suddenly start coming to Tony’s aid now because Bucky’s not there to do it. He hates that Sam listens to Steve’s word like it’s final and law in a way that he doesn’t listen to Bucky and he sure as shit doesn’t listen to Tony. Hates that Steve has so much fucking sway with that team and he’s never thought to use it to make Bucky’s or Tony’s lives easier. Hates how goddamn oblivious Steve is. Hates how that tiny act of kindness is sending Tony over the edge because he wants this. He wants Steve to notice Tony and it’s so fucking ridiculous, like a schoolgirl crush but Tony’s been in love with Steve for years so it’s even more ridiculous.

“You sure showed him, Captain”.

His tone is argumentative, and Steve picks up on it right away. His demeanour changes, he almost looks relieved and Tony doesn’t blame him because this is all Tony wants to do as well. He wants to scream back and forth until one of them caves and makes contact. Not the contact that hurts, but the contact that results in mutually assured orgasms.

“What do you want from me Tony?” Steve spits back.

“Sexual favours, but I’ll settle for you to mind your own business,” Tony answers.

Steve’s face flushes, “You are my business, Tony. You’re a part of this team—”

Tony cuts him off. He has no interest being a part of the team when it’s only to boost Steve’s side of a fight.

“No, no I’m not a part of this team,” Tony spits, “I’m a benefactor and a consultant, Rogers. I have never been a part of your team. I’m not a team player,” he says.

“Thought you played for all the teams,” Steve shoots.

“Only at the pleasure of myself,” he retorts.

“So I guess there’s nothing on this team that does it for you, then?” Steve says harshly, “At least, not _lately_. I get it, I’ll stop ‘pretending to be Bucky’” he sneers.

It hits unbelievably close to the truth and he feels frozen. He’s suddenly terrified that Steve’s somehow figured out Tony’s feelings for Bucky (or maybe both of them) and now he’s going to have it thrown back in his face every time they do this.

Something must cross his face because Steve goes from looking spiteful to shocked to confused and then Tony’s leaving.

It probably makes it so much worse because Tony has never, ever backed down without someone (Bucky) making him before but right now he’s walking away from a fight with Steve without getting the last word in.

Bucky would be proud, he thinks hysterically.

Tony’s pretty sure that Steve didn’t actually know about Tony’s feelings for Bucky right up until he said that and whatever deer-in-the-headlights look crossed Tony’s face—but if the confusion and shock on his face is any indication, Steve sure as shit knows about it now.

Yeah, Steve was just saying that to get a rise out of Tony and just happened to stumble upon Tony’s very, very real feelings for Bucky.

He’s so very fucked.

At least, he thinks he is for a few hours until it’s one in the morning and the workshop’s on blackout but Jarvis is telling him that Steve’s outside the door and it’s an emergency.

The emergency is that baby-Bucky won’t go to sleep.

“Please, I know you’re mad at me,” Steve says, standing in the workshop doorway in sleep pants and a rumbled shirt, “He’s asking for you, I can’t get him to sleep—he keeps breaking out in tears, I don’t know what’s going on—”

Tony cuts him off with a hand on his arm, “It’s fine, lead the way, cap,” he grits.

Steve should know now that Tony would do anything for Bucky. He’d do anything for Steve too, but he’s pretty sure Steve hasn’t figured that out yet.

Bucky launches himself at Tony the moment he steps into the room.

“Mista Stark,” he cries, “Are you mad at me?” he asks.

“What? No. Why would I be mad at you?” he asks, dragging the kid back into his bed. Bucky makes him lay next to him and Steve sits on the other side.

“I—I don’t know. I just… I don’t know!” he cries harder.

“Well then that’s stupid,” Tony says honestly.

Bucky laughs through a sob.

“You should know, I always tell people when I’m mad at them. I thought you were smarter than this. Come on, stop crying,” he coaxes.

“Why are you always mad at Steve?” he asks a few minutes later when he’s calmed himself.

“Something about his face,” Tony lies, “It’s a frustrating face,” which _isn’t a lie_ and makes Steve snort.

Bucky falls asleep after five minutes of introductory physics.

Steve falls asleep after seven.

Tony falls asleep after three minutes of Steve’s deep, even breaths.

It’s the weirdest morning after of Tony’s life. He’s pretty sure Steve thinks so to.

“This is weird,” Tony whispers because Bucky is still asleep.

“Very weird,” Steve agrees.

Just like that, they’re cool again.

Bucky drags both Steve and Tony around by the hand all morning. Clint makes a lot of gay-dad jokes and so when the mission is announced, he’s the one staying home.

They keep the peace until then, playing blackjack with baby-Bucky who’s starting to actually understand the objective, even if he’s no where near winning a game. It’s nice, the team leaves them alone because Bucky’s glaring at them now.

The spell should break soon, they’re all sure. Bucky’s nightmares are getting more vivid and often (as horrible of an indication that is) and he’s getting short with the team and grumpy like he normally would be. The only thing out of place is Bucky’s affection for Tony. It’s not that out of place, it’s just different, and happens in front of people who are not Steve which makes it weird.

Bucky gets in Tony’s lap at one point and asks if they can play the game as a team. Tony accepts, and they play with the rest of the Avengers. Tony counts the cards, mumbles the probabilities for Bucky and tells him when to draw cards.

Bucky wins and gives Tony’s cheek a big smacking kiss and Tony has no idea what to do about it.

Everyone seems as weirded out about it as he is.

“Bucky, you’re seven, stop trying to woo Tony,” Steve sighs.

Steve is not as weirded out as everyone else.

Tony tries not to think about it too much.

Who knows, maybe the super-couple have talked about a one-off threesome or something that would explain why tiny-Bucky seems to like Tony so much. That seems super gross and not at all right though.

They finally get the call for the mission to a Hydra base. There’s a hard-drive Fury wants Tony to look at, thinks it might contain what’s left of Zola, so that’s his mission.

The rest of the team need to take down the base.

It really drives home Tony’s point about not being a part of the team.

He has to leave the suit to get to the hard-drive without damaging it, and he’s half under a control panel with the suit standing sentry when he hears combat approaching. He can tell it’s Steve and at least two other baddies, so he tells Jarvis to give the Captain some support.

The fighting get’s closer, until it’s basically on top of him. He’s working a lot faster now, hoping the bad guys don’t notice the unarmed guy crouched on the floor and making off with the most important thing in this fucking base.

He’s not that lucky, but he’s almost got the drive so he doesn’t call the suit back. Steve’s keeping them busy.

Steve’s a fucking dumb ass though, and when he notices one of the two men gunning for Tony, he throws the shield. Not to take the guy down, no, but to Tony to use as cover.

Tony’s never used the shield before. He knows most of the others have had their turns playing with the Nations frisbee, but Tony’s never got the honour. He’s not sure he’d call it an honour though, even if he’s a little giddy about it. The feeling doesn’t last though, since it leaves Steve with just his hands and a single clip of bullets in the gun he never uses. Of course, he’s still got Tony’s suit helping, and Jarvis takes down both assailants, but not before one gets a fucking shot off at Steve.

He doesn’t go down, but he stumbles and grabs his arm.

He comes back to Tony and says, “Are you okay?” and Tony laughs hysterically and doesn’t answer. They can’t do this now so he shoves the shield back at Steve’s chest, glances to see it’s just a graze on Steve’s bicep and pulls the hard-drive free.

He can’t even look at Steve without wanting to punch him or kiss him the rest of the mission.

It’s late when they get back. Bucky’s asleep, Jarvis informs them.

Tony get’s in the elevator without saying a word, Steve fucking follows him.

They’re both courteous enough not to say anything until they get down to the lab and Steve whirls on him, “What the hell is your problem?”.

Tony loses it, “What’s my problem?” he laughs, “My problem is that I was fucking handling it and I didn’t need your god damn help!”.

“So, this is about your ego?” Steve spits.

“That’s hilarious! You put yourself at a disadvantage and for what, spangles? To prove yourself to little ol’ me?” he taunts.

“You didn’t have the suit!” Steve yells taking a step into Tony’s space.

“I didn’t need it! _You did_ because you _threw_ your shield away!” Tony shouts back, stepping into Steve’s space.

“To protect you!” Steve hisses and Tony has to step back when Steve gets into his space this time.

“I’m not Bucky!” Tony seethes, moving until _Steve_ has to take a step back, “You don’t need to swoop in to save me! He’ll be back in a few fucking days, Steve!” and he hears how low of a blow that is before Steve does, he thinks.

“Exactly! If he gets back and I let you get hurt, he’s going to kick my ass!”.

Somehow in their yelling and game of I-get-in-your-face-you-get-in-mine, Tony’s got the workbench getting steadily closer to his back. He takes a step forward to yell in Steve’s face, “Stop pretending that you care, Rogers! You are a shit liar!” and he takes two steps back when Steve yells back, “I’m not _pretending_ to care about you!”.

It leaves him pressed to the bench, and when he goes to step forward, and yell, “I honestly don’t know if you’re an asshole or just stupid,” Steve steps forward too, backing him into the bench.

“Neither do I!” Steve seethes and _shoves_ Tony.

Sort of.

He grabs Tony’s hips and pushes insistently until he’s back against the bench but he doesn’t let go, even when he looks appalled at his own action. His grip loosens from a firm cradle to a shaking brush of fingers against his sides.

Steve still looks angry. Tony’s glaring right back. The tension, the _sexual_ tension, is thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Figure it out,” Tony hisses quietly, meaning _are you just oblivious to my feelings for you, or are you purposefully doing this to hurt me?_ but Steve’s eyes fall to his mouth to watch the words form and Tony’s so fucked.

Tony has a terrifying moment to think, _is this really worth tearing the two men I love apart?_ And also, _is this really worth the slow and painful death at the hands of the Winter Soldier_? But then Steve kisses him, and he doesn’t think of much else.

Steve’s mouth is always so fucking pink, Tony thinks. It _tastes_ pink. Steve doesn’t kiss the way he fights, or the way he yells. He kisses Tony so goddamn softly it makes his knees week.

There’s something urgent and desperate to it, but it’s not commanding or harsh and he can feel Steve shaking. Tony’s arms come up and he’s holding his face like maybe that will help whatever crisis Steve is having and Tony kisses back. He takes control of their mouths but doesn’t turn it angry either, just deeper, doesn’t let Steve pull away or make this chaste because he’s only getting this the once.

Steve’s hands are firmer on Tony’s hips and he lets it happen.

He’s willing to let this asshole take as much as he god damn wants because he loves him, and because Tony won’t live too much longer after Bucky finds out so it’s not like he has to live with Steve’s regrets or Bucky’s broken heart.

Steve wants to take this pretty far, Tony thinks, when he’s been hauled up onto the bench and has his legs wrapped around Steve’s tiny fucking waist. Steve’s trying to crawl on top of him, and he’s… he’s really not very controlled and proper-like when he moans Tony’s name shaky and breathless.

Tony tightens his legs around Steve, tangles his hands in hair that’s never out of place and mumbles “couch” and lets Steve figure it out for a moment before he’s carrying Tony where they both want to be.

Steve crawls on top of him, is kissing him and whimpers when Tony grabs his ass and presses their hips together.

He’s almost passive, Tony thinks. He’s like a cat, bumping up against your hand to get you to pet them, he knows what he wants but he wants Tony to do the work, not like a dog who begs and smiles and shows off for attention. It’s the opposite of how he is in every other aspect of his life. Steve kisses, and Steve fucks, like he wants it more than anything but like it’s so scarily tentative he’s going to shake apart.

It’s not hate sex.

It’s not angry sex.

It’s the best god damn thing Tony’s ever experienced.

It comes to a screeching halt –both lying there, trying to catch their breath afterward, legs tangled together, Tony’s pressed against the back of the couch with Steve facing him and Tony’s running gentle fingertips over the still healing bullet graze on his arm— when Jarvis informs them that Bucky’s had a nightmare.

The guilty look on Steve’s face is enough to make Tony want to start another fight.

Instead he turns his back to Steve to give him privacy to get dressed.

 _Oh_ , he thinks as Steve leaves, _that’s what it feels like to be on this side of things_.

He’s not sure he sleeps, but he stays there for hours naked and wrapped in the throw blanket that just appeared in the workshop one day until Jarvis informs him that Steve and adult-sized Bucky are in the kitchen. Bucky is still missing his arm.

It’s a good thing Tony’s had a replacement ready for well over a year now.

He won’t have any reason to stay in the tower once he runs it by Bucky.

Won’t have reason to stand around waiting for Bucky to learn how to strangle someone with only one arm.

Tony pulls up a feed of the kitchen, and when he’s deemed that Bucky likely hasn’t heard about Steve and Tony’s fuck up, Tony makes his way upstairs.

He doubts that Steve’s going to lie about it, but it seems cruel to spring infidelity on top of spending a week as a child on Bucky before his coffee. Bucky looks the correct amount of grumpy for being down an arm and embarrassed. Not murderous though.

“Well hey there, Brooklyn,” Tony flirts at Bucky, who blushes in that adorably murderous way of his, “Need a hand?” he teases, aiming for casual. Aiming for quick. Aiming for not looking Steve Rogers in the face.

“If your offerin’” Bucky responds in a low grumble.

Tony brings up a holograph and sends it over to Bucky, “How did you like the straps to anchor it?” He asks, straight to business in a way he never is. He ignores everyone, keeps his eyes on Bucky. He can’t help look at Bucky with something like pity in his eyes. It’s not a look he’s ever given Bucky before. He thinks there’s some guilt in his expression too. He tries to make this exchange go fast.

“Was fine, better then drilled into my ribs,” Bucky says.

Tony smiles, but he feels it falls flat, he keeps on that professional tone that he’s never used with Bucky before.

“Great, so this is one-part invasive, one-part non-invasive. Small surgery to implant the anchor for the shoulder into the skeletal system, a few shifted nerves, and all that, and then the actual arm attaches to the permanent shoulder joint, and you strap it on,” he demonstrates with the hologram.

Bucky nods, “It’s amazing, thank you, Tony,” he says sincerely. He definitely has no idea. Looking at Bucky hurts.

Tony feels crippled by self hatred.

“You got it. I put it in Bruce’s lab, you’ll be a dear and hook our friend up, won’t you Bruce?” he asks sweetly.

“Me? Why can’t you do it?” Bruce asks, shocked.

“Afraid I’m on my way out,” Tony says casually, “Needed in California,” he lies. He’s definitely going to California tonight, but it’s not because he’s needed.

“You’re leaving?” Bucky asks and he actually sounds sad. He never has emotion in his voice. At least not when it’s around more than Steve and Tony. It makes that guilt try and choke Tony and a beat passes before he can speak again. He uses his anger at Steve to muddle through.

“Yeah,” he says, looking at Steve, “Pepper called. Said she wanted to talk,” he says and there’s a challenge in his voice even if he doesn’t really want to fight. Doesn’t think he could.

“Pepper?!” Steve demands, harshly. In Tony’s fucked up brain, he thinks he hears something like jealously in his tone, which is hilarious because Steve’s in a relationship and Tony was… something else.

“Yeah, Steve. Pepper. You know, light of my life, fire of my… life,” he answers distantly.

“She left you,” he says, roughly.

“I noticed,” Tony spits back.

“No, you didn’t,” Steve shoots. It’s a low blow, but Tony deserves it.

“Oh my god, I can’t take another god damn day of you two!” Sam shouts and walks out.

“Steve!” Bucky growls, and Steve’s mouth shuts audibly and he sits back down like he always does when Bucky uses that tone. Tony doesn’t even know when he stood up.

Tony’s shoulders drop with relief, “Nice to have you back, Brooklyn,” Tony says with a small smile.

“I can’t image you faired well on your own,” Bucky says.

Tony’s cheeks turn pink, and Steve’s face turns red.

“I don’t think there’s a day they didn’t fight at least once,” Bruce sighs, and gets up to follow Sam.

“We’re all sick of it,” Natasha says to Tony specifically.

“Not to worry,” he grins, “I’ll be in California for the foreseeable future”.

“Good,” she says and leaves too.

“You’re not coming back?” Bucky asks, looking hurt.

There’s a momentary crack in Tony’s careful mask before he says, “Unless that marriage proposal still stands,” with a grin.

Bucky blushes hard and sputters his embarrassment. Tony likes the way he looks like that. Commits it to memory since he’ll never see it again.

“Didn’t think so,” Tony winks, “I’ll be around for missions,” he says and turns to leave.

He stops outside the door though. He knows he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but Tony’s already bought himself a ticket to hell long before he slept with his friends boyfriend, so he does it anyway.

“What did you do?” he hears Bucky growl.

“Wrong question,” Steve says instead of answering and he sounds guilty.

“What didn’t you do?”

“Well, I didn’t shut up,” Steve supplies. ‘Shut up or kiss him,’ Tony’s heard Bucky make that joke a few times, it always makes them laugh, if a little nervously on Tony’s part. Bucky seems to catch on to what Steve’s not saying.

“Jesus Christ, Steve,” Bucky sighs.

“I’m so sorry—” Steve tries to say, but Bucky isn’t having it.

“When I say,” Bucky says low and threatening, “don’t do anything stupid until I get back,” it’s a slow drawl, and he’s still so Brooklyn, “That,” he hisses, “Is what I mean,” Tony’s pretty sure he’s referring to Tony himself right there, and so he makes his retreat. He needs to get his shit together to fly out tonight.

Or at least, he needs to _try_ and get his shit together. It’s not what happens. It’s not what he’s doing an hour later.

“You know, staring at it isn’t going to make it combust”.

Tony jumps about a foot in the air at the sound of Bucky’s voice behind him. He’s been staring at the couch in the workshop since he got down here wondering what surfaces he can sleep on now that won’t carry the memory of his two biggest fuck ups.

“Are you here to kill me?” Tony asks. He told himself he’s give Steve until the end of the day, if he hasn’t told Bucky everything by then, he’s going to tell him himself and then flee as fast as he can. He’s pretty sure Bucky can’t outrun the jet.

Either way, Tony, despite lacking the most basic of self-preservation instincts, does not have a death wish, and will not be staying in New York long enough for the Winter Soldier to choke him to death with the metal arm Tony built. The only reason Tony isn’t running now is because Bucky’s down an arm and Tony definitely deserves getting punched at least once before he goes.

“Now why would I do that?” Bucky drawls. Tony can’t even look at him.

He’s not sure if he’s joking or not, “I swear if he hasn’t fucking told you, I’m going to—”

“Relax,” _Bucky laughs_ and Tony has no idea why he could sound so casual when Tony slept with his fucking boyfriend.

“Did he tell you?” Tony demands turning around.

“If he didn’t, were you gonna?” Bucky asks, seriously.

Tony clenches his jaw, “Yes,” he says honestly.

“I believe you,” Bucky nods, “We’re cool,” he adds just to fuck with Tony he’s sure.

Tony’s blinking rapidly, wondering if Bucky’s already punched him and he’s just concussed again.

“We’re cool,” Tony repeats, slowly.

Bucky just nods.

Tony’s starting to think Steve didn’t actually tell Bucky anything except maybe that they kissed.

Silence draws on as Tony tries to deduce whether or not Bucky actually knows about that happened, or if he thinks this is maybe just about the fighting that Steve and Tony were doing.

“Wouldn’t mind if you, ya know… said you was sorry,” comes that impressive Brooklyn drawl. It’s worse than it was before Bucky was turned into a kid, but not as bad as it was when he was one. Tony can’t tell if it’s because he’s mad, or if he’s just stuck like this now.

“Just to clarify this is an apology for fucking your boyfriend, not fighting with him all week, right?” Tony hears himself say with an edge of hysteria.

“Both, if you mean it,” Bucky says casually.

In a way, Tony get’s why Bucky’s probably not overly jealous and ready to murder Tony in cold blood. It’s not like Tony’s much competition for the one-armed super-soldier. Bucky knows it was a one off. Just Steve getting some of the aggression he has towards Tony out somehow.

If it had been hate-sex, Tony would have believed that too. As it stands, it wasn’t hate-sex and it’s done nothing but make Tony even more fucking confused about Steve. Tony hates not understanding things.

He doesn’t really understand Bucky right now either.

“If I don’t?” Tony challenges, hoping to crack that casual façade.

Bucky frowns, “Look,” he says, “I get why you two did it,” he says, “I can’t say I’m not a little hurt, ‘cause we’re friends, and yeah… that’s my idiot boyfriend,” he says softer, “But… I get why it happened, and I’m not really surprised, and honestly… I doubt you’re sorry it happened, but I’d like it if you were sorry that it happened now and not… before I came back,” he says softly.

It breaks something in Tony, because for all he can be vicious with Steve and the world, he’s a different man when it comes to Bucky.

“I am sorry,” he says, and means it, “I’m sorry. Full stop. I’m sorry we did it. I’m sorry we did it now. I regret it. I’d take it back if I could,” and the worst thing is, is that it’s true.

He’s hurting more than ever, and what’s worse is that Bucky’s hurting too.

Bucky actually seems surprised at that.

“It’s Captain America,” Bucky says slyly, “You can’t regret it that much,” he says.

Tony smiles and he can feel how brittle it is, “It’s not,” he says, “It’s not _Captain America_ ,” he spits the moniker like it leaves a bad taste (it does).

It’s not just sex, is what he means. It’s not just a chance to fuck the pinnacle of human perfection. It’s Steve _fucking_ Rogers.

Something crosses Bucky’s face, but Tony doesn’t bother to read it. He goes back to tossing things in crates. He’ll save rounding up the bots for last.

“Are you going to California so I won’t kill you?” Bucky asks.

“Yes,” Tony says immediately, “Though you’re harmless with one arm,” he adds to lighten the mood.

Bucky might not be tearing his throat out right now, but he’s not an idiot. He knows he can’t stay.

“Don’t go,” Bucky says, “Steve says you built me a robot,” he grins, “I wanna meet ‘im and then kick your ass at blackjack,” and from what Tony can tell, he’s serious.

 _Tony is_ an idiot. So he stays.

And just like that, they’re cool.

Sort of.

Tony gets invited by Bucky to team dinner the next night, and says he needs to bring BJ and also snickers at the name and Tony’s in love.

He goes, and Bucky loses every round, so Tony teases and says, “You want to play on a team?”.

Bucky’s face goes very red and he lets out a bark of a laugh.

It’s the first time the Avenger’s have ever heard it and Tony smiles with smug satisfaction. Steve looks at him like he’s something wonderful too, and Tony’s so very confused.

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees, “You can sit in my lap this time,” he says smoothly, softly so only Tony can hear him.

Tony’s face goes very red and he lets out a bark of a laugh too.

Tony does not sit in his lap, but he doesn’t back down and he whispers probabilities in Bucky’s ear. He catches the other man shiver a few times, even as he has a very sly grin on his face.

Bucky wins and gives Tony’s cheek a quick, shy little kiss and Tony has no idea what to do about it.

Steve looks about as shocked as Tony.

The awkwardness is broken by BJ who is so new that he’s picking up on everything. He starts going around the room and poking everyone’s cheek in imitation of a kiss and it kills Tony. He’s precious, and so, so stupid.

After that, Steve implements a weekly Blackjack night, and Tony is forced along. Sometimes by Bucky—who is in love with his new arm—and sometimes by BJ who does not shut up if Tony tries to work through the two hours Steve has designated to team building.

“Tony, you are part of the team,” Steve keeps fucking saying.

It’s driving him crazy, but he won’t argue. He can’t, because as soon as he does he knows he’s screwed because all it reminds him of is how completely wrecked he can make Steve look, and how soft he can moan, how sweet he can be and when Steve gets angry, and he’s showing off and standing there, squared shoulders and commanding, Tony just wants to take him apart.

He thinks Steve might notice, because he stops starting fights. They are so civil that Bucky actually looks upset about it. No need to tug Steve’s ear until he behaves, or glare at Tony until he gives up.

Steve and Tony all but ignore each other, and things are horribly tense. The only time they acknowledge one another is in the field. There’s less chatter and backtalk over the comms. Tony still doesn’t follow orders or listen to Steve, but they don’t fight about it and it seems everyone is glad for it.

Everyone seems glad for Tony and Steve’s lost friendship.

Bruce asks for Tony’s help on a project in the lab. He never has before, in all the years the man’s been working in the lab Tony gave him next to his own.

Tony’s so caught off guard, he says yes. If he’d actually thought about it, he’d realise that the only reason Bruce wants to be around him now is because Tony’s so fucked up over Steve that his entire personality is subdued.

He knows the team hates Tony’s ‘vibe’ so the fact that they can suddenly tolerate him because he’s fucking grieving the loss of what he thought was a real friendship but was little else but sexual curiosity and lust, rubs Tony the wrong way.

Clint asks him if he wants to spar, and Tony delights in kicking his ass outside of the suit. Clint seems surprised, but Tony sparred with Bucky pretty much nightly when he first came to the tower. It gave Bucky some focus, teaching Tony. It’s been great. Tony refuses to tell where he’s learned to fight like that.

He still says yes when Bucky asks for a go, even if the whole team’s there.

Bucky’s faster with the new arm, and Tony grins when he makes the remark.

“Yeah, guy who made it’s pretty smart,” Bucky teases.

Bucky takes him down, but then they go again, and Tony takes him down. For a super-soldier, Bucky’s a lot lighter than Steve and not nearly as bulky now without the larger arm. He’s fast, and strong, but it’s not like hitting a wall of muscle. Besides, Tony built that arm, so he knows it’s two pounds heavier than the flesh, so all he needs to do is get Bucky to over balance.

Bucky seems as surprised as Clint did when Tony takes him down. He likely doesn’t even register that the arm weighs any different, but well… physics.

“Very smart,” Tony corrects.

Bucky’s face flushes and Tony can tell it’s from more than exertion.

“Did… did Tony just take down a super-soldier?” Sam asks out loud.

When they get out of the ring, Bucky actually walks up to Steve and closes the gaping man’s mouth. Tony tries really hard not to let that go to his head, but… it totally goes to his head.

Tony’s pretty sure that Steve and Bucky want a threesome.

He thought it was weird when he came to the conclusion before, but now… Now Bucky’s flirting with him all the time, and Steve and him are still tense but there’s no mistaking the desire on his face when Tony had Bucky pinned to the mat.

Let’s not forget the reason Tony and Steve are tense is because they slept together.

Maybe that’s all this is.

Bucky wants a turn to even the score.

They both must know how Tony feels by now. If the damn near tender sex with Steve didn’t indicate ‘I love you,’ then the arm he’s had built for Bucky since he met him because Steve asked him to week one into having a brainwashed Winter Soldier at the tower and week three of Steve not sleeping surely to god gives a good indication.

Then there was the argument where Tony literally watched Steve figure out Tony’s feelings for Bucky.

They know he won’t turn them down, for either thing.

He wants to turn them down.

That’s the shitty part.

But he also wants to throw caution to the wind, wants that immediate gratification for the feelings he’s been harbouring for years, but he can’t. He doesn’t think he can take feeling the way he felt when Steve walked out that night again.

Feeling used.

It’s hilarious, he thinks. He’s a Stark. Of course, he’s being used. He’s a billionaire and a playboy. That’s exactly what this is.

‘You’re part of the team’ means ‘don’t leave, we need your money’

A shy kiss on the cheek and a shy roll in the hay mean ‘you’re up for anything, right?’

He used to be up for anything, Steve and Bucky kind of ruined that for him, though.

Then again, he said that with Pepper too.

He wonders how much longer until he falls out of love with them too. He knows he won’t, of course, because they are the reason that he stopped loving Pepper (if he ever really did).

Some things don’t change though. Natasha still hates him, which is a relief, especially when Sam finds him enjoying a cup of Bucky’s fancy coffee on the terrace one day to tell him,

“We’re all really glad you worked things out with Steve”.

Tony laughed in his face. Laughed and laughed until there where tears in his eyes and the sound was nothing but hysterical and Sam had left.

Tony had not worked things out with Steve.

Bucky has been generally more talkative to everyone, though, and that doesn’t exclude Tony, which Tony doesn’t understand. He’s using full sentences instead of clipped grumbled replies some days.

He’s still got the accent. He’s always been a little Brooklyn, but now it’s there all the time. It does things to Tony. So many things, he barely even registers that they are flirting. Or, at least, that Bucky’s flirting back.

It takes Natasha saying, “Is that what this is, with Steve? Jealousy?”, for Tony to really see that it had been happening. Then, he can’t unsee it.

“Hey, Brooklyn,” Tony says one day.

“Hey, you should take me flying,” Bucky smiles. Actually smiles.

Tony nods before he realises what he’s doing.

They’ve done this before. Once as an adult, and was the first time he heard Bucky laughing, and then as a kid.

This time he climbs on Tony’s back and even with plates of gold-titanium alloy between them, hearing Bucky’s giggling laughter in his ear makes him shiver.

“It’s called jet-packing, you know,” Tony remarks afterward. They’re in the kitchen, Bucky’s making coffee.

“Is this poison? Actually, don’t tell me. It tastes so good, I’m going to drink it anyway,” Tony rambles because Bucky has some serious skills in the kitchen. Fancy coffee and tea biscuits are his specialty. “You are a god,” Tony praises into the cup.

“Me or the coffee?” Bucky inquires.

“Both,” Tony says, and for the purpose of the joke (that isn’t a joke at all) lets his eyes wander over Bucky’s body a moment, before winking at the blushing man.

“I’d never poison you,” Bucky rolls his eyes.

“Of course not, I’m delightful”

“Oh, you’re somethin’” he grumbles.

“Honey, I’m Tony Stark,” he winks, “I’m everything”.

Steve would have said ‘to who?’ he’s sure, because Tony is nothing. He’s a flashy box with nothing in it. Bucky’s not Steve though, and so he blushes shyly, mutters a gruff and sarcastic “uh huh” and doesn’t meet Tony’s eyes.

The next day Bucky says, “That’s not what jet-packing means,” with an adorable little pout.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Tony challenges.

“Course not,” he denies, “You’re an expert on a lot’a things, but somehow I don’t think cuddling’s one of them,” he says.

If Steve had said it, Tony would have turned it into a fight. But he never fights with Bucky so instead he flirts, “Maybe I need practice, care to teach me?”.

“Maybe if I thought I could get you into a bed,” he mumbles. It’s not what it sounds like, Tony knows, it’s Bucky’s personal mission to get Tony to sleep somewhere that isn’t a couch, but he can’t pass up the low hanging fruit.

“Brooklyn, all you gotta do is ask,” he winks.

He blushes bright red and Tony can’t help but laugh. He’s pretty like that, Tony thinks.

Eventually, Steve decides he’s not okay with ignoring each other anymore and makes the executive decision to break the weeks of silence.

“I don’t regret it,” are Steve’s words.

“I do,” are Tony’s. He’s never seen Steve look quite so lost before. Maybe when Bucky was still struggling and kept forgetting where he was.

“Why?” he finally asks, “Bucky isn’t upset with either of us,” he says.

“I can’t tell if you’re overestimating yourself and abilities in bed or underestimating yourself and my feelings for you” he realises what he’s said the moment the words are out of his mouth and he has to backpedal and he does it viciously, “No, I’ve decided. You’re overestimating yourself,” he spits.

It hurts to say, and he can see it hurts to hear.

Steve looks confused and hurt at the same time.

“You still have feelings for me?” he asked softly.

“Still?” Tony repeats coolly, “So you aren’t entirely oblivious, that’s good. That answers my question on whether you’re an idiot or an asshole,” Tony says lightly.

“I’m not trying to be an asshole!” Steve shouts.

“Bravo,” Tony says, deadpan.

Steve moves to reach for Tony’s hand, and he knows if Steve touches him, Tony loses this war with himself.

So, he does what he should have done the minute Steve left that night in the workshop, and he goes to California. He doesn’t tell anyone this time, not until he’s there. He’ll send Happy to get the bots later when he can look at them and explain where their friends went.

At least the couch in the workshop here isn’t as lumpy.

He sends a message to Steve, letting him know the Avengers are free to contract him for major missions but to otherwise leave him alone. Rather, Pepper sends a diplomatic message that says roughly the same thing.

She doesn’t actually come by, she’s busy as hell and he honestly would prefer she didn’t, but he appreciates her helping.

Steve does not respect the message.

He calls Tony three days later for a mission that they really didn’t need him on. It’s almost over by the time he shows up, considering it’s in New York and Tony was _not_.

“I’ve been gone three days, Cap, what did ya miss me or something?” he snarks over the comms to announce his arrival.

“A little,” comes Steve grunted reply.

The baddie of the week is a mutant of some kind who’s already killed three people and is setting explosives all over town square. Or well, about a hundred mutants with the exact some face are. No one has eyes on the real one, which sucks. If Tony had gotten there sooner, Jarvis could have targeted the original mutant to separate him from the clones.

Surprisingly no one complains that Tony’s late.

He wonders if they just didn’t care if he showed up or not. Thinks he’s maybe being a little melodramatic and throws himself into disintegrating the same ugly face over and over.

Tony finally catches sight of the original and he’s setting a car to blow right behind Steve who’s distracted fighting three of the clones.

The suit can take the damage, he’s not been hit at all yet, so he makes the decision and flies straight for the car.

The force of the impact takes the car almost a full block down the street, dragging the mutant along with it. When the explosion goes off, Tony see’s the mutant get caught up in it before he himself is thrown thirty feet or so back.

It hurts, and his shoulder is dislocated, but he’s otherwise fine.

“Tony!” he hears Steve yell and he’s clambering to his feet. He sees the clones have disappeared, and Natasha and Sam are on there way to check the baddies vitals.

Tony’s not sure if he killed the guy. Not sure he cares, especially not if that’s what Steve’s so upset about.

“Are you okay?” Steve asks, hands out let he’s going to steady Tony in the suit or something.

Tony lifts the faceplate, “Careful,” he spits, “I might just think you care,” and then he closes it, because he _is_ melodramatic, and stalks away.

He doesn’t get very far before he overhears Steve on the comms, “Bucky?” he askes, “Bucky, report!” it’s harsher, a little panicked, and Tony’s immediately scanning the area.

“I’m fine,” comes the terse response, just as Tony finds him.

But he’s not fine. He’s stuck under a half-collapsed building. Tony doesn’t think, just flies full speed to where he is.

He’s relieved to find Bucky’s not actually hurt, he’s just got the metal arm stuck under a couple tons of concrete.

Bucky looks up at him with big, bright eyes, and he looks sad and dejected.

“I’m stuck,” he pouts.

Tony can’t help but laugh, “No, you’re not. Just lift your arm,” he says. That arm could lift a lot more than what’s on it now, Tony knows.

“I… I don’t want to break it,” he admits, “You made it for me”.

It does things to Tony. Gross emotional things.

“You won’t, it’s stronger than the other one,” Tony tell him, though he already has, “Come on, lift,” he says, helping by wedging his good arm in to help too.

Bucky gets free a moment later and stares at the arm in shock.

“You doubting my tech now?” Tony can’t help but sound a little defensive.

“No,” Bucky grumbled, “but you ain’t around to fix it if I do manage to break it,” he says.

That hurts. Bucky should know damn well Tony would drop anything if Bucky needed his arm repaired.

He doesn’t even say it in that malicious voice that Steve does. He sounds pouty and sad and it _hurts_.

“Are you guilt tripping me right now?” Tony asks, incredulous.

“Is it working?” he grumbles quietly.

Tony pauses, he wants to say yes, “No,” he says, and walks away.

“Sir, you need to have your shoulder set before the flight back to Malibu,” Jarvis reminds him, but he doesn’t just report over the private channel, it’s over the open comm channel.

Tony doesn’t bother to argue when Steve gives that stern look, just steps out of the suit and silently gets into the van with the rest of them. He is capable of being silent, when it’s to prove a point.

The point is that he’s done with all of them.

He’s done with Steve and by extension he’s done with Bucky, and he’s been done with the team for a long time now.

His shoulder is set, and he’s leaving medical. He almost makes it back to where the suit is waiting on the penthouse terrace, but Bucky stops him with the offer of a cup of coffee. The fancy stuff only he knows how to make. He accepts, because he’s a pushover.

Tony finally gives in, the two sitting in awkward silence at the little kitchen island. They’re alone, but he knows the others are near by because Bucky’s eyes are tracking the sound of someone’s movement in the other room as he so often does with that super-hearing.

“What do you want me to say?” Tony asks, his voice is a little harsher than he usually uses with Bucky.

He just shrugs, “You sleepin’ in a bed these days?” he asks.

“The couch in the Malibu lab is three inches wider, if that counts,” Tony answers, taking another drink.

“You should sleep in a bed,” he nods at Tony’s arm, still sore and cradled in a sling, “help with that,” he advises.

To spite him, Tony removes the sling with a pointed look. Bucky’s frown reaches a new level of displeasure.

Asking him to stay just to sit in silence. Fake concern. Those pouty lips and puppy dog eyes, and guilt tripping Tony and he can’t fucking stand it.

“Is that your way of saying yours is available? Because I’m going to have to turn you down. Probability of dying a slow painful death doubles when you make the same mistake twice,” Tony says darkly.

“So, it was a mistake then?” Bucky asks, his own tone is nothing he’s ever used against Tony.

Tony hears the team in the other room now, brought closer to the doorway by the sharpness of Bucky’s usually baritone voice.

“Didn’t I make that clear?” Tony says, and they _are_ fighting. “I regret it, I wish I never did it, it was a mistake, and Bucky—as pretty as you are, I _don’t_ want to do it again. It wasn’t worth it,” he spits.

“What were you hoping for?” Bucky growls, “What did you think was going to happen?”.

Tony laughs, it’s not a nice sound, “Nothing, but we could at least call it what it was, instead of putting on this little show,” he motions to the cup of coffee as an example of the bullshit act they’ve both been putting on.

“And what was it?” Bucky grits out.

“An easy fuck,” Tony says sharply, “Sadly, just not easy enough to go two for two on America’s super-soldiers,” he spits.

“That’s not what—” he cuts himself off with a low growl, “That is not what you are, Tony! He _does_ care about you. We both do,” Bucky’s yell is a little feminine, even if he started out lowly.

It only serves to escalate Tony’s mood, “Right,” he laughs, “I’m pretty damn important, aren’t I?” He askes rhetorically, “There’s a lot of reasons to care about me, fortunately for you, you don’t have to spare my feelings to reap the benefits of me as a benefactor. God knows he’s never bothered before,” he spits, and then sweetly, “Let’s not fuck with a good thing”.

Tony’s pretty sure the team are all eavesdropping, and if they are, they sure as hell know about Tony and Steve, so there will be no minced words after this anyway.

“Stop yellin’, I’m not Steve,” Bucky grumbles, awkwardly.

“Aren’t you?” Tony says, just as loud as before, “Because you’re in here fighting with me on his fucking behalf, are you not?”.

“No! I don’t… I don’t know,” he growls, and takes a step forward, and Tony’s not interested, so he takes a step back only to find himself pressed to the counter so much like the fight with Steve that Tony loses it, laughing for a minute before he says, “No? Then what were _you_ hoping for, huh?” Tony demands, “Were you angling for a threesome? _I don’t want to_. Were you looking to have your own turn _? I don’t fucking want to!_ I’m done, I had my fucking fun, and it’s enough guilt for a lifetime, and I assure you, I had plenty already, so Bucky, I’m _done_ ,” he says finally.

“I know that!” Bucky shouts, “We know that! Jesus, Tony,” he swears, “You are not some cheap fuck, okay!? This is why I didn’t want to ever tell you! I knew what it would look like,” he hisses.

“No, I’m a very expensive fuck,” Tony says, for lack of anything better to say.

“You were not just a fuck to him, okay?”

“That’s really easy to hear coming from his boyfriend, thanks,” Tony seethes.

“Yeah, well every time he opens his mouth around you, he makes it worse,” Bucky shrugs.

“I have to be honest, you’re not doing much better,” Tony says.

“I’m getting there,” he grumbles.

“No, no there is no where to get,” Tony explains, “I fucked your boyfriend, I regret it, now we move on—Steve and I ignore each other, or we keep fucking arguing. There’s no other option here, Buck. Give up,” Tony says.

“Why do you regret it?”

“Why? Why do I regret it?” He asks with disbelief, rapidly losing any composure he had left, “Because you! You were my friend! And Steve and I for once in our goddamn lives were getting along, so I just _lost the two best things_ in my life because I lacked the self control to tell myself no when he kissed me!” he shouts, “I regret it because a fucking second of lapsed judgement and I ran the risk of tearing apart the two people that I care the most about! Ran the risk of a slow and painful fucking death by the man I’m in love with, for sleeping with the other man I’m in love with! What’s not to regret?!”

“Sleeping with one of the men you’re in love with?” Bucky asked, he had a bit of blush to his cheeks, a small smile, and Tony realised what he just said.

“Fuck,” Tony cursed at himself.

Well, if they hadn’t fucking figured it out yet, they sure did now. So had the rest of the team, if they were still eavesdropping.

Tony moves to leave, only for Bucky to stop him with a gentle metal grip on his wrist, “Wait, Tony—” he says, tugging a little until Tony’s facing him again.

Tony knows what’s about to happen. He wants it so bad but he doesn’t want it at all.

Bucky doesn’t actually kiss him, just cups Tony’s jaw and stares into his fucking soul with those stormy blue eyes.

“I’m in love with you,” Bucky whispers, “and if you ask Steve, he’s gonna say the same thing,” and they are so close, they should be kissing and not talking, but Bucky goes on to fuck with Tony’s heart some more, “That don’t mean you need’ta be wit’ either of us, but… just know, it’s not just about sex, not for Steve, and not for me, if I ever made you think that, which, I guess I probably did, so… I’m sorry,”

Tony really stopped listening around ‘he’s gonna say the same thing’ but he’s polite enough to wait until Bucky’s lips aren’t moving the bridge the scant inch of distance between their mouths.

Bucky doesn’t kiss anything like Steve does. Doesn’t kiss anything like he is in life either. He’s typically shy and grumbly, reluctant and indecisive. His kisses are confident, smooth, filthy and perfect.

Tony doesn’t like being pinned to the counter this time, so he pushed until he has Bucky pinned there instead. Tony’s hands are shaking where he’s gripping Bucky’s waist and there’s a flesh and a metal hand tangled in Tony’s hair.

He’s too busy chasing Bucky’s tongue to really care about the team in the other room, though he’s dimly aware that it is something he should be concerned about.

Bucky pulls away, just far enough to breathe against Tony’s lips, “I love you,” and he’s kissing him again.

He wonders vaguely if he did in fact hit his head and this is some kind of dream, or hallucination, or maybe it’s magic or some other bullshit.

He never really allowed himself to think this might turn out to be _something_.

He’s still not sure exactly what this is turning out to be, but he’s hearing Bucky Barnes tell him he loves him and that’s… well... _something_.

It’s everything.

Or almost. Everything would be hearing those words from Steve Rogers too, but he’s not sure that will ever happen.

For now, he takes what he can get. That’s what got him into this mess, he knows, but Jesus Christ, he can barely breathe for how Bucky kisses him.

He thinks he understands Steve’s desire to crawl as close as he possibly could that night in the lab, since Tony finds himself practically bending Bucky backwards chasing his mouth.

He has to pull away, because there’s no way this can go any further, not with the team in the other room at least.

Bucky’s cheeks are so, so pink and his mouth is red and wet and he’s smiling, eyes shining and he says those words again, “I love you,” and Tony replies, “I think I’m going crazy,” and Bucky giggles and kisses him again.

“Go on a date with me,” he insists.

“I think I hit my head,” Tony replies even as he leans in and kisses Bucky again.

Bucky laughs, tangles his hands in Tony’s hair again and pretends to check for swelling, “All good,” he whispers and kisses him again. Tony’s not sure he’s ever going to be able to stop.

“Go on a date with me,” he says again.

“How long has this… been a thing?” Tony asks instead of answering.

“For me? A long time. For Steve? Even longer,” he says.

“I don’t believe you,” Tony says honestly, not bothering to hide the vulnerability in his voice.

“That’s my fault,” Bucky sighs, “I didn’t want to tell you—I was afraid you’d think… well, exactly what you thought. That it was about sex and then we’d ruin our friendship and… I was scared. Steve wanted to tell you, but I wouldn’t let him. It’s what we were fighting about, on the jet before all this started. I was pissed because he refused to see how shitty the team’s been, and he told me it wasn’t our place since you wasn’t ours”.

Tony didn’t know what to say to that, thought about kissing Bucky again just because he was right there.

“Go on a date with me,” Bucky asks again.

“You? Not both of your?” Tony asks.

Bucky snorts, “No, you’re still mad at him, and honestly? So am I,” he grins, “He can ask you out himself—I’m not his messenger”.

Against his better judgement (like all things with Steve and Bucky), Tony nodded, “okay,” and kissed Bucky again.

“Tomorrow,” Bucky requested.

“You’re saying that so I don’t go back to Malibu tonight,” Tony realised.

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed.

Tony doesn’t go back to Malibu that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments! :)


	3. Bucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I could tell you this is worth the wait, but it definitely is not.
> 
> The translations for the brief French discussion is in the end of works notes!

Bucky is not Steve, so he does not put out for Tony right there in the kitchen knowing the team is in the other room hissing questions at Steve who is struggling but trying to answer. Bucky really _wants_ to put out for Tony. He won’t though. Tony deserves better than that.

He deserves a date.

Especially after everything Steve just put him through.

But if Bucky’s honest with himself, which he tires to be, Bucky hasn’t really done Tony any favours either.

He thought he was. He thought trying to keep the team’s mouths shut about Tony was helpful, but from what he’s pieced together as his time as his seven-year-old self, all he’s really been doing is covering up for them. Steve never believed what Bucky was saying because he never saw it happening. That’s on Bucky, he knows.

What’s also on Bucky is that neither Steve nor Bucky ever showed any signs that would indicate romantic interest until _after_ Steve had sex with him.

Bucky had been selfish, he knows. He was the one who told Steve he didn’t want to go there with Tony even though they were both head over heals for him. It was fear, mainly. Bucky’s not a fan of the other people on Steve’s team, both because of the way they treat Tony, the way they worship Captain America, and for personal, _individual_ reasons. So, Tony was kind of his only friend and the thought of messing that up was terrifying.

He was pissed at Steve for doing it.

He also acknowledged that Steve and Bucky were not a single entity. He had to acknowledge Steve’s feelings too. Steve’s relationship with Tony was different. It was much more dramatic, emotional, and turbulent than Bucky’s relationship to Tony.

But Steve had a problem of trying to solve problems with actions and he didn’t seem to find any difference between winning a war with his fists, and winning Tony’s love with his… dick.

So, yeah. Bucky was pissed.

They had worked it out though, for a minute.

Bucky wasn’t ready to take the risk and Steve was. That was fine, Steve could take the risk, and Bucky could wait. They were not a single entity.

Of course, Steve couldn’t just say, “Hey! I love you!” _and then_ have the argument. He had to argue with Tony first, and let it be known, Tony always got the last word in.

This time the last word was more of a last action and he took off to California without telling anyone. At least he knew Bucky would have talked him out of it again.

In the three days Tony was gone, Bucky realised that he… he had been stalling. He wanted to be with Tony, especially when Steve told him about their time together. Bucky could think of little else but kissing Tony and he was kidding himself trying to wait any longer.

It was all rather impromptu though. Steve and Bucky barely dared get their hopes up that Tony would come back the first time they called. Half expected they’d have to wait for a world ending event to get him to talk, but he came and he saved Steve’s ass and Bucky’s arm and took down the bad guy they had been fighting for two hours within ten minutes of showing up.

The team didn’t even say thank you.

“I’m going to talk to Tony, and _you_ ,” Bucky had said to Steve while Tony was getting his dislocated shoulder set, “You are going to talk to that team of yours and tell them you’re a fucking idiot,” and Steve had nodded.

It was barely a team.

Sam was only there because he worshipped after Captain America, following the propaganda into the jaws of death with little regard for the scrappy and flawed man underneath (and yes, Bucky could call his boyfriend flawed, because he _was_ and perfectly so). Natasha was only there because she bought in to the Steve Rogers: Righteous Man and True Hero schtick and instead of facing her own mistakes decided to use Steve as a moral compass. Bruce was only there because they had the technology to contain his alter ego, and Tony gave him his own lab, and Clint literally _told_ Bucky he was there because he had _nothing better to do_ and Natasha was _his_ only friend.

Bucky’s brief stint as his younger self didn’t do much to change the way he felt about the team, he knew that much. Clint not included. The archer and Bucky’s child-self had found some sort of equilibrium purely because Clint was good with kids. They’d yet to find their footing now that Bucky’s age was restored, though he suspected it wasn’t for lack of trying. For the most part though, Bucky only recalled bits and pieces of his younger self’s experiences. Flashes of emotion. Confusion, fear, anger—righteous and bright. Joy, admiration, love—unconditional and pure.

So overall, he knew that very few of the people on Steve’s team cared about helping people or doing good. Sam was a soldier, he wanted someone to tell him how to use that skill. Natasha was a spy, she wanted someone to tell her who to spy on. Bruce was a time bomb, he wanted someone to diffuse him. Clint was _bored_.

Steve had an obligation to do good. He was born with that obligation and it’s seen him unconscious in alleyways enough times that Bucky knows he’s still helping people now.

Tony had sins to atone for. Years of doing the bad thing, now Bucky knows that Tony’s devoted himself to making up for it by doing the good thing.

The difference between Tony and Natasha was that Tony didn’t need Steve to tell him what the right thing to do was. Tony made that call on his own, every single time.

Tony wasn’t a soldier. He was just a good man doing his best.

He was inspiring to Bucky who had been a soldier far too long.

Bucky also had sins to atone for, and years of doing the bad thing just like Tony. Now he’s trying to devote himself to making up for it.

Bucky realised there was irony in him shaming the team for hero worship when he was nearly as bad when it came to Tony, but Bucky was his own person, unlike Natasha, and he cared about every aspect of Tony, unlike Sam.

He also recognized Tony’s flaws, which no one but Bucky and Tony seemed to recognize of Steve. Tony lived every second like it was going to be his last. Like he was going to die the next day. He lived like that even before the arc reactor that poisoned him, at least from what Bucky could gather. For Tony, true happiness seemed to be fleeting throughout his whole life, and he lived following every whim he had in hopes of getting a fix of contentedness, or joy, of happiness. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, even if it was a little depressing to think about, and Bucky never considered it to be until that ‘embrace every moment’ attitude resulted in Tony sleeping with Bucky’s boyfriend.

He can admit, that hurt. A lot. A lot more than he let on.

It wasn’t so much that they slept together. Wasn’t jealousy, not really (though he was a little jealous that Steve got to experience that with Tony and Bucky didn’t). What hurt the most was knowing that Tony went into the situation thinking he was sacrificing Bucky’s friendship, and possibly Steve and Bucky’s relationship –not that Tony was responsible for Steve’s actions, of course but Bucky couldn’t help but think that Tony likely weighed the options. Weighed the worth of Tony and Bucky’s friendship against sleeping with Steve. And chose Steve.

So… maybe it was jealousy.

Just not the kind one might expect.

But Bucky was nothing if not empathetic, or so said Steve. Bucky understood both their reasoning and the sting didn’t really last. It sparked concerns, though. Did Tony not value Bucky? Did Tony only have feelings for Steve? What would happen if that was the case?

Steve gave Bucky plenty of assurances though, told him that Tony’s feelings for Bucky were there as well, if better hidden. It helped soothe the building fears. Of course, Bucky would have given his blessing for Steve to pursue Tony alone, but what if Tony wasn’t interested in that sort of arrangement? What if Bucky really did become jealous? There was a lot to consider.

Thankfully Bucky didn’t need to consider much of it now.

“So, I had an idea,” Steve says as Bucky is getting ready for his date with Tony. Steve didn’t even pretend he wasn’t jealous, pouting, begging to come too, Bucky wasn’t having it. Steve had to fix things with Tony on his own.

Bucky grunted for him to continue.

“I’m bad with words—even more so when it comes to Tony,” he says, and yeah—that wasn’t a new discovery. Steve’s always been bad at talking to people he likes, “but action, or at least, physical action,” he blushed, “wasn’t the way to go either. So, if you would be so kind,” he said with a dramatic bow, “as to pass this along on the date that I will not be crashing, I think Tony might maybe forgive me one day,” Steve said with a grin and bright hopeful eyes he knew Bucky couldn’t say no to.

Steve handed him an 8x11 inch envelope, it looked almost professional and Bucky immediately went to open it.

“Nope,” Steve said, swatting his hand, “That’s _my_ romantic gesture,” he said pointedly.

It made Bucky roll his eyes and grin, but he accepted it, and agreed to pass it on with a disclaimer in case the contents of the envelope somehow made things worse.

Bucky can admit, he’s nervous as hell about this date. He hasn’t taken anyone new out since the forties. He’s a little rusty on the charm.

Tony’s not. Tony is so damn charming it kicks Bucky’s heart into overdrive just looking at him.

“I’ll be honest, I kind of figured you were bluffing,” Tony says with a smirk as he very obviously checks Bucky out. Bucky tries and fails not to blush under the scrutiny since rare are the days he wears something that isn’t combat pants and a hooded sweatshirt. He still frowns at the words.

Tony doesn’t give him a chance to reply, just looks over Bucky’s shoulder at Steve and says, “I’ll have him home by ten, grandpa,” with a wink.

Steve nods, “How about midnight?” he suggests.

Tony blinks, then laughs, “Yeah, yeah alright. Let’s go, Cinderella” he shakes his head and motions Bucky to the elevator.

Bucky’s also just generally nervous about going out. He always is. He tries to leave the tower as often as possible, making sure the ratio of non-violent outings compared to Avengers missions, training, and recon missions stays tipped towards the non-violent side of things. He doesn’t always succeed, and he clams up sometimes, but Tony’s the person who tags along the most anyway, so he can’t panic too hard.

Bucky remembers the first time Tony and Bucky actually spent time together. Tony took him to lunch, had walked up to him and said, “Come on, it’s time you learned about food in the twenty-first century, and I want to see what all the fuss is about you,” and he’d corralled Bucky to a little pizzeria in the city. Up until that point, Bucky hadn’t liked Tony very much.

Everyone said he was insensitive, rude, and treated Steve like shit.

At first glance, Tony was, and did do all those things.

He didn’t mince words, or sugar coat things, he was confident, and yeah—he had a problem with Steve. Bucky was willing to look past the abrasive personality though, it worked for him somehow. He wasn’t willing to look past his problem with Steve, though. He had understood the team’s protectiveness of Steve, and assumed that’s what was going on.

Then he spent two hours eating pizza with the guy and he just couldn’t find it in him to dislike Tony.

He was funny, he made jokes no one else would think to make. He had a distinct understanding of right and wrong and his own personal code of ethics that was so cutthroat and simple that it reminded him of Steve. He was challenging, he pushed, but he seemed to understand _where_ _not_ to poke Bucky just as well as he knew _where_ to poke Steve.

He talked fast and it had Bucky hanging on to every word he said just trying to keep up. It distracted him from how terrified he was being out of the tower. It took him too long to realise that Tony was doing it on purpose.

Then he made a comment about Bucky putting a good word in with the Captain, since he was going above and beyond by taking Bucky to an ice cream shop too and he realised that Tony had taken him out because _Steve had asked him to_.

“Yeah, I had to do the whole modern delicacy thing with Ste—Rogers way back, too”

He had said it so casually.

It changed Bucky’s entire view on Tony because Steve and Tony were _friends_. And no one _noticed_.

Everyone made it seem like Tony was the bane of Steve’s existence, but Steve had asked and trusted Tony to be the first person to take Bucky outside since he’d arrived two months prior.

That’s when he decided Steve’s team was made of a bunch of idiots. Led by the biggest idiot of all (who he loved dearly, but god damn) because Steve didn’t seem to know that everyone was under the impression that Steve hated Tony.

So Bucky invited Tony back to their apartment, asked about modern films that Steve hasn’t seen yet, which ended up being a three day movie marathon and Bucky realised his boyfriend did not fight with Tony because they hated each other, but because they _loved_ each other.

He felt jealous for maybe two weeks, but it really didn’t last. How could it? Tony adored Steve, and Bucky adored Steve and somewhere along the way that became some kind of solidarity instead of competition.

It helped that Tony was… well Tony. He was something, that was for sure.

Tony was a different person around the team, which Bucky didn’t blame him for at all, though it made him equal parts angry and sad.

But by living on the defensive while in the presence of the team, Tony did end up digging himself a deeper grave, in a way.

The team had formed their opinions of Tony based on the front he puts on, but because of the (sexual) tension between Steve and Tony, none of them ever thought to look any deeper than the superficial mask he wears.

It’s frustrating to Bucky, since he knows that Natasha and Clint have been trained to be observant since _childhood_ , yet they choose to remain oblivious to what’s really been going on.

But no more. No, Steve was going to look those dumb asses in the eye and tell them what he really thinks of Tony, and that they need to get their own heads out of their asses and start appreciating their teammate, and when they were done with that, they needed to learn to think for themselves.

Now, Tony’s looking at him with a raised brow as he wipes the palm of his sweaty hand on his black skinny jeans for the fifth time in as many minutes. Bucky’s driving, since taking a car with a driver would make it feel like _Tony_ was taking _him_ out.

“What?” He mumbles, “Not every day I get to take a fella as sweet as you out ta dinner,” he says softly, cheeks heating.

“What about Steve?” Tony laughs.

“Stevie’s a lotta things, sweet isn’t really one of ‘em,” Bucky smiles.

Tony smirks, sharp and dangerous, “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. He can be pretty sweet,” he says suggestively.

It takes Bucky’s brain a ridiculously long time to figure out what Tony’s referring to. Mostly because Steve is never very sweet for Bucky in bed—but he knows Tony brought out that gentle side of Steve when they were together.

Bucky’s face turns very pink, and he makes a sound somewhere between choking and curiosity.

Tony coughs, “Sorry, shouldn’t have brought that up,” he says more seriously.

Bucky shrugs it off, “It’s fine… He’s just,” he feels himself flush some more, unused to talking about sex with another person that wasn’t Steve, “Not like that wit’ me,” he says quickly.

“I love when you go from resting murder face to blushing virgin,” Tony teases.

The banter is different, but it is still banter with Tony and it feels natural in a way he wasn’t expecting.

They get to the restaurant, the same little pizzeria that Tony took him to the first time they hung out, and he seems genuinely pleased that Bucky remembered the spot.

It’s a date, and it feels like a date because he’s allowing himself to look at Tony with what is probably a very stupid expression on his face, but which is in fact his enormous crush showing. Other than that, though—it feels like _them_.

It feels like hanging out with Tony who smiles these big grinning smiles, but now also he gives these softer little smiles. They aren’t what he would call shy smiles, because it’s still Tony and Tony is not a shy man, but his whole face softens when Bucky hesitantly wraps his ankles around one of Tony’s and he smiles this smile Bucky has never quite seen before.

Bucky wants to tell him he loves him again, but he’s not sure if Tony’s ready to say it back outside of a spitting argument. He hadn’t when they kissed yesterday, hadn’t responded when Bucky said it before. It’s not that Bucky doesn’t believe Tony loves him, and loves Steve—he did say it first, technically. He’s just… He’s nervous now that the adrenaline of the argument has faded, and he’s scared Tony regrets it somehow. It was clear he didn’t _mean_ to say it when he did.

“Hey, what’s with the thousand-yard stare?” Tony asks, bumping his leg with his own.

There’s concern on his face, but also the same nervousness that Bucky is feeling reflected back to him.

“I really care about you,” Bucky says because that’s all he can think about.

Tony’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes, “But?” he prompts.

Bucky doesn’t say ‘but nothing,’ like Steve would. He’s not that optimistic.

“But, I’m scared,” he admits, “It’s why… this never came up before,” he says.

Tony blinks at him, tilts his head to the side like a curious dog, “I kinda figured that was Steve’s 1940’s sensibilities,” he says lightly.

Bucky snorts, “No,” he shakes his head, “He wanted to tell you when uh, when my crush turned into uh, actual love,” he admits softly.

“You keep saying that,” Tony says, like maybe Bucky didn’t know.

Bucky nods to agree.

“Do you mean it? I can’t tell if you mean it. I mean—you could lie, I probably won’t be able to tell—” he rambles.

“Tony,” Bucky interrupts, “I mean it. I love you,” he says, “It’s uh, it’s fine if you don’t… I mean, if you don’t really—yet. I know we’ve only been uh, it’s only been a bit over a year and uh, you’ve known Steve for uh—” Bucky hears himself rambling too and shuts his mouth. He was _supposed_ to be a man of few words.

“ _That’s_ what you’re scared of?” he asks, incredulous.

Bucky grunts, shrugging. It’s an obvious yes to anyone who knows him. Tony defiantly knows him.

“Brooklyn, even _Steve_ could tell I’m in love with you,” he says with such earnestly and conviction it makes Bucky’s heart pound.

It might just be that Tony just said he loves him, or the nickname, but whatever it was, Bucky’s heart skips a beat and he knows _he’s_ smiling shyly now.

“Ya really mean it?” he asks Tony.

“Do I--?” he still looks blown away by Bucky, “Of course I mean it, Jesus Christ, Bucky,” he takes Bucky’s hand across the table, “I love you,” he makes eyes contact when he says it, it sends a shiver up his spine with it’s intensity.

“I love you too,” Bucky says softly.

He doesn’t stare off into the void of self doubt for the remaining of their dinner. He watches Tony talk about a new project for SI, waving his hands animatedly. Bucky can’t exactly keep up with the technical jargon, but he does his best, and he loves watching Tony.

He’d be embarrassed by getting caught with such a dopey look on his face, but then Tony looks just as embarrassed at having lost himself in his explanation. They both laugh at themselves and when dinner is over, Tony asks if he can take Bucky for ice cream.

Of course, Bucky agrees, and while they can’t exactly hold hands down the sidewalk, they walk with their shoulders brushing.

They sit on a park bench, watching the inky black of night chase away the last of the orange light from the city skyline. Continue even as the city comes alive with twinkling lights and the sky has gone dark.

Tony looks beautiful in every shade of lighting that passes them.

They shouldn’t kiss out here in the open, Bucky knows. The media doesn’t know about Bucky and Steve, which is hilarious because if anyone had bothered to really look at the history of Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers they would _know_. Two men in the forties living in the gayest neighbourhood in New York? Steve’s little unsanctioned rescue operation? Somehow, no one had put it together. Still, there was a reason that Steve and Bucky kept their relationship private, and that would apply tenfold to Tony.

That doesn’t seem to stop either of them from leaning in.

The kiss is gentler than yesterday’s, but it’s still charged. Tony kisses as good as he gets, a hand on Bucky’s face soft but leading, like Tony can’t help but want that small amount of control over the pace and Bucky lets him—tests him, tries to deepen the kiss but Tony doesn’t allow it and so he doesn’t push, just melts into it. It’s perfect, Bucky thinks.

“This feels right,” Tony says against his mouth, breathless, “for me at least,” he says lightly, almost teasing, “but I’m not the one dating two people,” he continues.

“Mmm, yes,” Bucky agrees, places one more lingering kiss on Tony’s mouth before pulling away to breathe and steady his heart.

Tony’s comment reminds Bucky of the envelope still in his jacket and he weighs his options. It seems the night is coming to a close, and he knows he’s probably not going _home_ with Tony, even if Steve more or less said he was expecting it. Tony was careful not to let things get too heated, so he’s pretty sure he won’t ruin the mood or anything.

“Steve wanted me to pass this along,” Bucky says, “Donno what it is, so my hands are clean, ya?” he gives his disclaimer.

Tony grins, but Bucky can tell there’s some apprehension in the expression when Bucky hands over the envelope.

He doesn’t hesitate, a determined set to his jaw as he pulls the contents free of the envelope. It’s a drawing, Bucky can tell, sheathed in one of those clear plastic protectors. There’s a sticky note on top. It speaks of how fast Tony’s brain is that he’s covering a sharp intake of breath with a huffed chuckle before Bucky’s even made it through the first line of Steve’s messy scrawl.

_Tony,_

_I think it’s turned out that I’m the encrypted book, not you. So, in effort to make life ~~easier~~ better for all of us, I thought I’d give you the key._

_I love you. I’ve loved you since this day exactly._

Tony lifted the sticky note gently, revealing the artwork underneath.

There were two pictures of Tony, on the top and the bottom halves of the page. His hair was longer, messier, and Bucky knew before he looked at the date and signature at the bottom that it was years old. _Jan. 18 th, 2013_ and Steve’s loopy signature proved Bucky’s hypothesis right away.

In both sketches, Tony was in the lab, from the angle, Bucky could guess Steve was watching from the couch in there. The genius was asleep, passed out with his cheek on top of the Iron Man chest plate.

In the top sketch, one of the bots, presumably DUM-E was in the process of placing a cone dunce cap on the sleeping man.

In the bottom sketch, Tony was still asleep and with the cap on his head, and DUM-E was draping a blanket over his shoulders.

Here now, on the bench, Tony wasn’t saying anything, he just had his head tilted to the side, trying to figure out what it all meant.

His thumb swiped over the date and signature, clearing the glare from the city lights on the plastic.

Tony bit his lip.

“That’s a long time,” he said quietly. Bucky’s not sure he was supposed to hear it.

“Explains why he’s always been an idiot with you,” Bucky comments.

Tony chuckles, “Does it?” and even with the laugh, Bucky knows it’s a serious question.

“Steve’s always an idiot when he’s in love,” Bucky says.

Tony frowns, “Not when it comes to you,” he challenges.

Bucky shakes his head, “No, no he definitely is,” he says, “Shit he pulled in the war? Shit he pulled on the helicarrier wit’ the Winter Soldier? He threw his god damn shield away. He stopped fightin’ back—I could have—I almost—no, he’s _always_ an idiot in love, Tony. Always,” Bucky assures.

“That’s not even remotely comforting,” Tony laughs.

Bucky shrugged, “He’d burn the world ta keep ya safe,” Bucky says, “It makes it worth it, knowin’ you’re that important”.

“Think I’m that important to him?” Tony asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I know you are,” he says, “To me too,” he adds, “Though _I’d_ probably stealth it,” he teases, “Save the brute force and destruction to Steve,” he smiles.

Tony raises a brow, “Is that a euphemism?” he asks slyly.

Bucky blushes, “No,” he says, “Do you want it to be?” he asks, aiming for flirty but coming out a little nervous.

Tony smirks, “Maybe,” he says.

They stay out for a while longer, and Tony’s eyes continuously drift to Steve’s drawing with a small smile on his face.

Steve may have had the right idea. Tony is incredibly smart and has a great eye for detail. Even though he’s not as familiar with Steve’s art style as Bucky is, he knows Tony can tell the amount of care and effort that’s gone into that drawing. It’s not like the quick sketches Steve does when he’s bored, and it’s not a renditioning from an old memory either. This took time, maybe a few drafts to get the moment down in such a perfect recreation.

Bucky doesn’t have a lot of context for the day this exchange took place, but he doesn’t think he needs it. Tony’s bots, whether they are endearingly flawed like DUM-E and U or the complex and advanced code of JARVIS, are a part of Tony himself.

This moment that Steve captured in pencil shows that beautifully, right alongside everything that makes Tony the amazing man he is. Tony devoting himself to the constant growth of Iron Man, and to becoming a better man himself. Burning himself out in the process sometimes. The gentle placement of the dunce cap, one Bucky has seen the bots each have their turn with. His bot, smart enough to recognize its makers flaws and how they match the bots own. The blanket, gently draped across his shoulders. Those bots are self learning. Tony has created metal and circuitry that reflects his own sassy, yet caring nature and it’s not because he wrote the program that way. It’s because they have learned from him.

Bucky understands how that was the turning point for Steve.

It’s a beautiful realization, he thinks.

Bucky doesn’t think he has a turning point moment of when exactly he realized he loved Tony but he does remembers when his crush had tripped him into the slow descent of falling in love. It was coincidentally the same moment Bucky had decided he should talk to Steve about their feelings for the other man.

Bucky, like always, had tried to play it safe. He opened not with the admission of his own feelings, but instead with the admission of Steve’s.

“You’re in love with Tony” Bucky had begun.

It wasn’t the smartest move on Bucky’s part, because that just opened the door for Steve’s sputtering denial.

Steve started with, “What? I—what are you talking about, Buck? You know I love _you_ ,” and ended about five minutes later with, “I mean, Tony is… Well, I—before you came back—I… He’s a good friend, of course. He’s a great friend. I love him—but—but as a friend, Buck. You know Tony—Its hard to not… not to see…” Steve had trailed with a far away look in his eye, before visibly shaking himself out of thought, “I mean—you know, he’s your friend too, right? He’s a good friend, Buck,” he finished, lamely.

Bucky had the thought that Hydra must have really crossed Bucky’s wires because watching his boyfriend muddle through that half assed denial had brought the strangest little smile to Bucky’s face. It was so blatantly obvious that Steve had feelings for both Tony and Bucky and it was killing him trying to navigate it alone. That shouldn’t have made Bucky happy, but it did in some weird way.

Steve shot Bucky a confused look, and Bucky shook his head fondly, “It’s Peggy Carter all over again,” he said, which was also the wrong thing to say, he realised, when Steve’s face drained of colour.

It was the truth, at least halfway. Steve had fallen for Peggy back in the war, but it was far more complicated then, and Bucky was not so learned when it came to the implications of that at the time. To Bucky in the forties, Steve falling for someone else, and that someone being a woman, had led him to draw a very clear conclusion: Steve didn’t love Bucky. Steve had only ever been entertaining Bucky’s perversion. Steve was settling with Bucky, and then with his hot new body, he’d found someone more to his liking.

Of course, Bucky knew now that he was wrong. Steve was _bisexual_ just like Tony, and Bucky was _gay_ and those things were different. Steve was polyamorous but Peggy was monogamous. The twenty first century gave Bucky a lot of new language to help him navigate feelings. He just wished Steve would embrace the new century too. Maybe he’d be less emotionally constipated.

Steve, pale and anxious, opened his mouth for more denial, and then Bucky’s brain caught up and he cut his boyfriend off. “But it’s different this time—” Bucky rushed, and at Steve’s confused expression he went on, “’Cause I like him too, might even be in love with him some day,” and Steve looked even more confused.

Bucky explains all this to Tony on their way home from their date.

“That’s when I let myself start… to uh, fall in love,” he mumbles, “Not sure when I made contact, just know when I tripped, and now here I am,” he says, “In love with you”.

“That’s…. poetic,” Tony muses, “and adorable,” he adds with a bright grin.

Tony’s looking a lot happier than Bucky’s ever seen him before. He thinks that like Steve, like Bucky himself, these feelings have been weighing on Tony’s mind with guilt and confusion.

“Do you remember when you knew you were in love with Steve?” Tony asks after a while, tone having lost its playful cheer.

It’s a loaded question with several meanings, Bucky thinks. The simplest version of the question is does he remember the moment he realized his love for Steve in the 30’s. There’s the added layer to the question if he lost the memory because of Hydra—and in that case, does he remember the realization after the fact?

“I remember when I realized, yeah,” he answers, “But I didn’t have that memory at first—so I guess I realized it twice,” he admits.

“Judging from your voice, neither of those seem like pleasant memories,” Tony replies.

Bucky can’t help but laugh, “Don’t think I could tell you which was worse” he answers, not willing to dwell on the memory of his sexual discovery as a teenager in the 1930’s, nor the syrupy slow drip of realization he had while driving his fist into Steve’s face as the Winter Soldier.

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Tony replies, lightly.

Bucky shrugs, he wouldn’t say it was unhealthy exactly.

“The best things in life are the things you work for,” he says, “That’s a saying, right?” he confirms.

Tony laughs, “I don’t know, just sounds like you over complicating things to me,” he teases.

“No, that’s definitely your job,” Bucky replies with a laugh.

“I make over-complicated look good,” Tony agrees with a smirk.

“And over-confidence,” Bucky adds with a smirk of his own.

Tony gives a mock bow of acceptance as they walk through the garage at five to twelve.

“But then, is it over-confidence if it’s deserved?” Bucky muses teasing.

It makes Tony laugh and roll his eyes.

It was undeniably a date, Bucky thinks for the millionth time as they’re waiting for the towers elevator together and Tony asks with a sly smirk, “So, can I invite you upstairs for a drink?”.

They are standing incredibly close, and when Tony licks his lips, Bucky’s eyes track the motion and he thinks about chasing it with his own tongue.

“You don’t drink,” Bucky says after too long a pause spent mulling over the implications of the question.

The elevator has arrived, Jarvis is holding it, he’s sure, since an eternity passes between them and it stays open and inviting.

“I don’t,” Tony agrees, and he bites his lip now and there’s no defense for that, so Bucky finds his own teeth sinking gently into Tony’s bottom lip a second later without much conscious thought.

He also finds himself backed into the elevator wall, their goodnight kiss getting sloppier by the second, which is saying something, since it began with biting.

But Bucky knows he shouldn’t. They shouldn’t. They need to take this slow, so despite the heat he’s feeling pooling in his gut, he pulls away a few inches, Tony chases his mouth and he almost caves.

But he remembers himself, “I uh, don’t do that on the first date,” he breathes, even though he’s got both his hands dangerously close to grabbing Tony’s ass and pulling his hips against his own.

“No? What about the second?” Tony smirks sounding just as breathless as Bucky “This was technically two dates. You took me to dinner, I took you for ice cream—we even switched who was driving, that’s officially two dates,” he says.

Bucky feels himself leaning forward, about to capture Tony’s mouth again, but stops.

Tony takes a step back, though he doesn’t go very far. The elevator is stopped, but the doors haven’t opened. “Are you doing this to prove you’re not just in it for the sex? Or do you really not want to?” he asks.

Bucky grumbles, shrugs, and says, “First one,” because he’s embarrassed that Tony could tell just how badly he wants this to keep going.

Tony takes another step back, looks Bucky up and down, gaze lingering on the obvious bulge in the front of Bucky’s pants, and says, “Alright, third date, then?”.

“Sounds—” Bucky’s voice cracks and he swallows thickly, nervous and turned on under Tony’s heated stare, “Sounds good,” he tries again.

Tony nods, steps back into his space, kisses him again in a way that does not make Bucky think he means to end this here, considering Tony’s thigh presses between Bucky’s own making him moan embarrassingly loud, but then Tony _does_ end it there, smirking.

“Alright, Sunday then,” he grins at Bucky’s mute nod. Tony hits a button on the elevator panel and the doors open on the Avengers floor, “But tell Steve I’m free on Wednesday,” he adds with a challenging little smirk. Bucky’s still trying to breathe, so he nods again and goes about exiting the elevator in a god damn trance.

Tony gives him a cheeky little wave as the doors shut and Bucky’s face is still pink when he makes it to the apartment he shares with Steve at 12:14.

“Was starting to think you weren’t coming home,” Steve says teasingly.

Bucky leans back against the door, “Hng” he manages.

Steve comes into view, and his eyes immediately rove over Bucky’s body and Jesus Christ, maybe dating two people was a bad idea because Bucky feels like he’s going to combust under the collective heat from both men’s appreciative gazes. He’s not sure he’ll survive them in the same room, looking at Bucky like that.

“How’s that ‘going slow’ plan of yours?” Steve purrs.

“Shut up,” Bucky hisses, making grabby hands for Steve and pulling him closer. He wonders if Tony did this on purpose. He thinks he maybe did. With that filthy goddamn kiss.

Bucky feels like he’s been passed off like a baton in a foot race and that shouldn’t turn him on but when Steve literally picks him up and carries him to their bedroom, it really, really does. He feels a bit like a peace offering, too. Tony returning Bucky to Steve with the promise of a date and an absolutely raging hard on.

“Tony—Tony wants you to take ‘im out o-on We—Wednesday,” Bucky stutters, breaking off into “Oh god, oh god, oh god,” when Steve’s thigh lands between his just like Tony’s did.

Steve’s face lights up like it’s Christmas and then Bucky can’t really pay attention to anything after that.

The next morning, he thinks it’s a little strange, dating someone who you kind of live with. Bucky imagines it’s what an office romance might be like, if they had regular jobs. Bucky’s thrumming with excitement for the next date, but he still gets to see Tony everyday.

For some reason, Bucky didn’t think he would see much of Tony until their next date, but Tony comes crawling out for coffee the next morning just like always.

Bucky hasn’t had a chance to talk to Steve about the team and how his conversation went, but he gets the feeling it’s a work in progress the way everyone tenses when Tony comes into the room.

Bucky’s sitting next to Steve, whose been awake way to long already and is nursing his second cup of coffee and reading the newspaper like the grandpa that he is. Bucky’s still in his pajama’s, slowly making his way through a bowl of cereal.

He perks up when he sees Tony, and so does Steve.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by the genius.

“Jesus, you’re like dogs,” he mutters to himself as he pours himself some coffee, casual and relaxed despite all eyes on him.

It’s just Sam and Bruce, Clint and Natasha are on a recon op as of way too early this morning, so it could be worse, he knows.

“Morning,” Tony drawls to the room.

“Hey,” Steve says, damn near a dreamy sigh.

He’s got eyes for Tony and Tony alone, and it escapes literally nobodies notice. Not even Tony can play ignorant to Steve’s dopey little smile. It’s kind of funny, since Bucky’s the one who went out with him last night and had a damn near religious experience in the elevator.

Tony leans back on the counter, staring directly back at Steve and taking a slow drink of coffee. No ones talking.

“Wednesday,” Tony says like a reminder.

Steve nods eagerly.

“Seven. I’ll pick the place,” Tony adds, it’s a very obvious order, and it should rub someone like Steve the wrong way, but it doesn’t. He nods again, “Yeah, yeah, okay,” Steve breathes out.

Tony nods curtly, and without another word, walks away. Not before stealing a blueberry out of Bucky’s bowl of cheerios though, but that’s not new behaviour.

Steve is staring at the elevator that Tony disappeared behind like he might magically reappear and so Bucky snorts a laugh.

“I don’t know how we missed this,” Sam says suddenly, reminding Steve that he’s not alone mooning over Tony right now. The blond jumps where he’s beside Bucky making him laugh again.

“Missed what?” Steve tries. Bucky ignores him.

“I do,” Bucky says, “All you’s got your heads up your asses and don’t bother lookin’ past your own shitty idea’s ‘bout Tony,” he says simply and takes an aggressive bite of his cereal.

Sam blinks, “I think I preferred you when you didn’t talk,” he says and deflates a little, hunkering down around his own breakfast.

“Get used to it,” Bucky says back.

“I can’t believe Tony’s just been… pulling Cap’s pigtails this whole time,” Bruce says.

Bucky glares, “No,” he says pointedly, “Steve’s been pullin’ Tony’s pigtails,” he corrects.

Steve blushes and scratches the back of his head, “Yeah, no—Bucky’s right about that,” he says nervously.

“I know you’re biased” Sam says to Bucky, “I just can’t tell who you’re biased for,” he says, squinting like he might figure it out.

“I ain’t biased,” he says and then shrugs, “But fair _, I am_ datin’ ‘em both,” he says proudly.

“Oh,” Steve says, “Reminds me, when are you two going out next?” he asks Bucky.

“Sunday,” Bucky mumbles, petulant.

Steve grins, but doesn’t comment on Bucky’s tone, “Alright, there’s an art showing on Friday I wanted to see, thought you and I could go,” he smiles.

“Sure, thing,” Bucky agrees with a smile. He likes going to art things with Steve. Bucky could never afford those things for Steve when they were growing up, but now they have another chance. It’s nice that some things haven’t changed. The classics are still the classics. He likes that they can go back for this thing they missed out on the first time around.

“Great,” Steve says, kissing the side of his head, “I’ve got a meting with Fury soon, I’ll see you later,” he says to Bucky, and gives a wave to Sam and Bruce on his way out.

“This is weird,” Sam announces, non-accusatory when Steve’s gone and Bucky’s rinsing his dishes.

“No one asked your permission,” Bucky says through gritted teeth anyway.

“Yeah, no, I know,” he says, “But come on,” he gestures to nothing, “Steve and Tony aren’t even friends!” he says, like it’s some enigma.

“They’ve been friends for years, you just didn’t notice,” Bucky grumbles. Then he takes a page from Tony’s book and sassily turns on his heal to leave.

Bucky has a feeling life is going to be pretty busy for the three of them for a while. All the dates, Avengers missions, and time spent glaring daggers at the team sounds like a pretty full schedule to Bucky. He, at least, doesn’t have meetings with conniving bastards every waking hour like Steve does, nor a million and one projects on the go like Tony does.

Bucky mostly goes to therapy and the gym.

It gives him extra time to do nice things for his boyfriends.

Bucky goes to the bagel place Steve likes and leaves the lunch for him in his office, knowing he’ll be in there doing paperwork when he gets back. He goes to the coffee shop that Tony likes and get’s the genius a cup and sets it next to the working man’s elbow. Tony doesn’t even register Bucky’s there until he kisses the side of his head.

“Security breach,” Tony grumbles with a smile, “This for me?” he asks.

Bucky hums a conformation.

Tony’s face lights up when he takes a sip, “You are the God of coffee, Bucky, I swear,” he groans.

“How do you think I got you to fall in love with me?” Bucky teases, leaning back against the work bench behind him.

Tony raises a brow, “Did you want a list? I have one,” he says, “Your laugh, your eyes, your smile, your pout,” he says softly, cupping the side of Bucky’s face gently, tracing the line of his mouth with his thumb, “It always gives you away,” he says, stepping closer, “can always tell what your thinking even when you’re glaring at me,” he smirks.

Bucky’s cheeks heat, “Yeah?” he asks, “What am I thinkin’ now?” his grin is goofy he knows, but his eyes are trained on Tony’s lips so it’s pretty clear what he’s after. What he’s been after since that last kiss in the elevator. He’s waiting so patiently but if Tony actually takes the time to answer Bucky might die.

He doesn’t. Tony just kisses him, exactly like Bucky wanted.

It’s slow and measured, but oh-so-thorough and has Bucky’s breathless with it. Tony’s hand on his face, the other around his waist, and Bucky’s own on Tony’s hips.

When Tony pulls away, it’s only to press their foreheads together and breath the others air.

“Did I get that right?” Tony asks, grinning.

Smiling, Bucky hums his agreement.

They stay there another moment, but then Bucky hears a ruffle of fabric to his left and turns to find Steve leaning casually against the door of the workshop.

He’s biting his lip, a faint blush on his cheeks and an even fainter smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Bucky feels Tony go rigid against him, hands dropping immediately. Bucky leaves his where they are but loosens his grip in case Tony wants to step away.

No one says anything for a long moment.

They want this. They’ve talked about it. Steve’s seen the evidence of Bucky and Tony already.

There’s still a big difference between talking, imagining, and evidence and then actually seeing them together.

This could be a deciding moment. Steve could get jealous. He could change his mind.

Bucky meets Steve’s eye across the room. His teeth sink harder into his lip and he’s fighting a smile.

Turning back to Tony, Bucky sees apprehension and guilt on the man’s face.

Slowly, Buck leans back in to capture his lips again. Tony makes a soft sound of surprise, but melts into the kiss again. Bucky can feel Steve’s eyes on them, warm and grounding.

When Bucky pulls away it’s with one last chaste and lingering kiss and a smile.

They separate now, and Tony goes immediately for the cup of cooling coffee that Bucky brought seeking the distraction from Steve’s heavy gaze with shaky movements.

“Did you need somethin’, Stevie?” Bucky asks.

“Uh,” he says, dumbly.

Bucky can’t help but smirk at the slack jawed expression on Steve’s face.

“Right,” he says after another second, “Uh, Avengers meeting—not uh, I mean, if you’re busy, it can wait,” he says softly, distractedly.

Bucky laughs, “I’m not busy,” he says.

Still dazed, Steve nods, “Tony? You have a few minutes?” he asks.

“For you, Cap, I have thirty-five,” he says.

“It that all it takes?” Bucky can’t help but joke.

Tony raises an eyebrow, “That depends on how hard you work,” he says, blatant.

Bucky blushes scarlet and looks away, “I walked into that one,” he says to himself.

It turns out Steve had another romantic gesture up his sleeve besides the drawing. This one, even Bucky wasn’t sure how well it would be received by Tony.

The team was assembled in the boardroom they often conjugated to for mission briefings. A mix of bored and curious expressions on their faces.

“I wanted to talk to you about the current Avengers roster,” Steve says in that Captain America voice, “I’d like to discuss bringing Iron Man onto the team officially, and you should know—I’ve prepared a case, and it’s already been approved by Fury,” he begins.

Tony, who had his feet up on the table, playing on his phone while they were waiting for the remaining team members to arrive, blinks owlishly at Steve. He slowly sets one foot and then the other back on the floor to lean forward like he might see the joke if he squints.

“Currently, Tony, you’re considered a consultant, and if you’d rather keep it that way, you can and reserve the right to decline missions for whatever reason—but, it’s been three years, and you’ve never not shown up, and I think that alone is worthy of being an Avenger,” he says.

No one says anything until, “Did I just _accidentally_ sleep my way onto the team?” Tony jokes, tensely.

“No,” Steve says, as if expecting it, and yeah, Bucky was expecting that reaction too and he’s mystified on why Steve thought he should do this now. Then Steve continues, “Technically, Bucky did, though. So, we can have the discussion about conflicts of interest if you accept the offer formally”.

It makes Bucky choke on his next inhale, but Steve continues without paying him any mind. _Rude,_ Bucky thinks. Though that is a good point.

Bucky has never been looked at with the same sort of scrutiny that Tony is. He’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it definitely had to do with being Steve’s boyfriend.

Truthfully, Bucky’s past really should mean more to the team and to Fury than it does. He killed so many people, and he shouldn’t be the only one to point out how much of a liability he was at the beginning, still struggling with his new reality—and the reality that he had lived without knowing. His history is far more worrisome than Tony’s. But on the other hand, considering Bucky’s actions as the Winter Soldier when deciding if he was a good candidate for the Avengers Initiative might have cost him his spot on the team and despite his dislike for some of his fellow Avengers, he was glad for the opportunity to use the skills Hydra gave him to help a _good_ cause.

“The Avengers are a team, and while I am the captain, we are effective because we work well _together_ ,” Steve continues, “Something I think has been made pretty clear on our last mission against that mutant. Without Iron Man we would have been at it for hours. We may not have even been able to take the man down without casualties,” he says, “This team _needs_ Iron Man, and I think we’ve all been idiots for not realizing that sooner,” he finishes, and he’s looking and Tony who’s staring back like Steve grew a second head.

The rest of the team is staring at _Bucky_ of all people.

It doesn’t sound like Steve’s giving anyone much choice, not even Tony. Doesn’t make it sound like he’s looking for a vote either.

“I take it this ain’t a democracy,” Bucky jokes, mouth quirked up in the corner.

Steve smiles bashfully, and Tony continues to blink rapidly with disbelief.

“Stone Incorporated, Baintronics, and Hammer Industries,” Natasha speaks up entirely unprompted.

Bucky had never heard of any of those companies, but her eyes were stuck glaring at Tony, so he assumed they were significant.

He wasn’t the only one not following though.

“What do a bunch of failed tech companies have to do with—” Clint started but then cut himself off, eyes darting to Tony.

“What can I say, I’m a vengeful ex,” Tony glared back and offering the explanation Bucky didn’t really need anymore. He could recall a few names now, Tiberius Stone, Sunset Bain, and Justin Hammer, “Luckily I don’t have any real _exes_ in the Avengers. Ex PA’s not included,” he says meaningfully.

“Probability doubles when you make the same mistake twice,” she says icily, a mockery of Tony’s own words the night he came back from Malibu.

Bucky’s about to jump to Tony’s defense, especially when he sees the pained look cross Tony’s face, but Steve beats him to it.

“This isn’t a democracy,” he states, voice hard.

“Then why are we here, Steve?” Sam asks, “I gotta assume you didn’t call us here just to remind us your smitten with Stark,” he points out.

Steve nods, “The second part of this meeting depends on Tony’s answer,” he states, “Then we move on to democracy,” he smiles, but it’s very obviously strained.

“My answer,” Tony repeats.

“Yes, on whether you’d like to—” Steve tries.

“Yeah, I got it,” Tony cuts him off, and then he blinks a few times, “Sorry, I’m trying to figure out if you’re a really bad business man, or a damn good one,” he rambles, “Maybe I should be offering _you_ a job,” he muses, pointlessly.

Bucky’s still trying to figure out when Steve got this bright idea, and why the hell he wasn’t a part of it. He supposes he knows now what that meeting with Fury was about this morning.

“Did you have a back-up plan for what to talk about for the next twenty minutes if I did say no?” Tony asks, his tone isn’t exactly light and pleasant, but it’s not down-right argumentative either. Bucky supposes that’s a win all around.

Steve shrugs and doesn’t meet anyone’s eye, which means that no, he did not.

“Cool,” Tony says, and props his feet back up, “What are we voting on then?” he says impatiently.

“That’s a yes?” Steve clarifies.

Tony rolls his eyes, “Ding ding ding,” he drawls, but his short attitude doesn’t do anything to dampen Steve’s grin. “Eighteen minutes, blondie,” Tony adds, a little more fondly.

“Right,” Steve says, looking like he needed the reminder. “The uh, the short of it is that Bucky and Tony can’t report to me for mission debriefings— So, this meeting is to pick a uh, co-captain of sorts. Someone for Bucky and Tony to report back to, so it’s uh—not so personal if I mess up,” he states.

“I don’t think Tony has any problem reporting back to you when you mess up,” Clint mumbles.

But there’s a good point to be made, “But I do,” Bucky admits.

He often holds his tongue about calls Steve makes in the field. He always has, even in the war. He can never tell if he’s just being oversensitive because Steve’s his boyfriend, if he’s carrying baggage when they’re on the outs, or if he’s not bringing something up in fear of an argument that turns personal. It was Bucky’s least favourite thing about Captain America, he thinks.

He’s pretty sure he’d _like_ to do debriefings with someone else.

The question was who?

“Thor,” Tony says without prompt, “My votes on Thor”.

Steve’s eye-roll is fond, but he still denies Tony.

“Clint,” Bucky says after a moment.

The archer was, in Bucky’s opinion, floundering ever since they’d met. From what Bucky was told, Barton and Romanoff had a handler that didn’t make it through the first Avengers mission, the Battle of New York ™. Clint’s been nothing but a follower for as long as Bucky’s known him. Following after Natasha, following after Fury, after Steve. It didn’t seem to matter who Clint was following though, since he remained entirely directionless regardless.

He was by far, the least committed member of the team.

Everyone looks at Bucky like he’s crazy.

“What? You got something better to do?” he challenges the archer.

Clint’s got nothing to fight for, it seems. Not that the team is fighting for much these days anyway. But Clint has the air about him like someone who’s just passing through.

Maybe… Maybe if he had a reason to be on the team, maybe if he had his skills recognized… Well, maybe Bucky could make a team out of this group of glorified USO girls.

It takes Clint a second, but then he glares, “I don’t need a pet project,” he says coolly.

It’s the reaction Bucky’s waiting for, of course.

“Thor’s out, Bruce isn’t on half the missions, Natasha can’t be objective—” at that her jaw drops, “I don’t see many options here”.

“Hey! I’m right here,” Sam pipes up.

Bucky gives him a flat look, “You didn’t even cross my mind, birdbrain,” he replies.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, “Cyborg,” he adds.

Steve takes a second to look around, but Clint’s not saying no, and neither is Tony. No one else pipes up to throw their own name in, and it’s settled.

“Great, then Clint it is,” Steve says with a smile belied by the level of finality in his tone. The corner of Bucky’s mouth twitches up in a smirk when Clint just rolls his eyes.

The next day, the day before Steve and Tony’s date, Tony still refuses to give up the details of where they are going.

On one hand, it means Steve’s consistently brainstorming places and activities, events—you name it and he’s trying to rope Bucky into brainstorming with him all the while. On the other hand, Steve has no solid clue where they’re going or what they’re doing and thus can’t rope Bucky into the tragedy that is Steve Rogers’s closet.

“You spent enough damn time in there, you’d think you’d dress like it,” Bucky had mumbled one day when getting ready for a date a few months ago.

It had led to explaining the entirety of the saying “coming out of the closet” and being late for their movie. Luckily, they were allowed in anyway-- thanks to Captain America’s charm, of course.

Bucky wasn’t above using it.

The point is, Steve’s wardrobe is a disaster and they both know it. It’s a combination of growing up poor and being too thin for clothes to fit that led to the travesty of Steve’s sense of style. Bucky blames the army too, just because he can.

So, when Steve and Tony start fighting the day of their date, it doesn’t take Bucky long to put all the pieces together.

Bucky can hear Steve and Tony approaching when he realizes they’re arguing a second later.

“Damnit Tony,” Bucky hears Steve sigh.

“Regretting agreeing already?” Tony bites back, casual and light in a way that’s obviously fake.

“That’s not what I meant,” Steve groans as they come around the corner, “But it doesn’t have to be so fancy and... and expensive,” Steve argues.

“So? I’m paying. I like expensive,” Tony says, childishly.

“I don’t,” Steve glares.

Bucky clears his throat to gain their attention. Steve’s in his patented defensive pose with his arms crossed. Tony’s wearing his fake relaxed posture like armour.

“Try communicating,” Bucky mumbles raising a judgmental eyebrow at the two.

Steve sighs, losing some of his tension, “You don’t need to take me somewhere fancy, Tony,” he says.

Tony nods, “I know. I want to, though,” he says.

Steve’s shoulders go back up, “Tony—”

Bucky cuts him off, “Why?” he asks Tony.

Tony shuffles awkwardly for a second, like a kid in trouble, “This place does that Irish dish you were talking about a few weeks ago. You said you couldn’t find it anywhere in the city, so Jarvis looked into it. It’s the only place,” Tony says, not looking at either of them, instead busying himself with the coffee machine.

Steve’s whole posture and face changes, “Oh,” he says soft, surprised.

“It’s whatever, if you don’t want to—” Tony starts.

“No, I—” Steve rushes, “I just… don’t want to uh… embarrass you,” he says, “I don’t… _do_ fine dining,” he says, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

Tony spins to give Steve an incredulous look, “Embarrass _me_?” he asks, eyebrow raised, “You’re Captain America,” he reminds.

“Yeah, and you’re Tony Stark,” Steve motions to Tony in his three piece suit and artful goatee.

Bucky see’s the moment Tony gets it, “You don’t know what to wear,” he states.

Steve deflates completely at that.

“I can tell you what to wear,” Tony offers, “If that’s not like a _thing_ for you. I assume not, since you’ve been letting shady government organizations dress you your entire adult life,” he teases.

Steve huffs a laugh, “Good point,” he says.

As they leave, Steve shoots a look at Bucky and mouths ‘thank you’ with a wide grin.

Bucky smiles, shaking his head at the two idiots.

“You’re good at that,” Natasha remarks.

Bucky shoots her a glare, “Just hafta ask the right questions,” he answers.

Steve and Tony disappear together for a few hours, and it’s not until an hour before their date that Bucky sees Steve again.

He’s getting dressed in a _suit_. And it’s not his army greens. It definitely wasn’t in Steve’s closet before today. Which meant Tony convinced Steve he needed it.

“Holy shit,” Bucky hears himself say.

Steve looks _incredible_.

His boyfriend blushes bashfully, ducking his head while trying to straighten his tie.

“I’m so damn nervous,” Steve admits, “I think I forgot how to do this,” he nods down at the mess of his tie.

Bucky rolls his eyes fondly and crosses into the room to help.

Steve’s wearing aftershave. It belongs to Bucky. It makes him roll his eyes again.

“You look… really good,” Bucky mumbles dumbly while he focuses on re-tying a neat little knot at Steve’s throat in the ombre red fabric. Steve never knew how to tie his own tie. Bucky always did it for him upon finding Steve stumbling through it on his own.

Bucky kisses Steve when he’s through, hands splayed in his boyfriends chest, careful not to wrinkle the expensive looking (and feeling) fabric.

The suit is a charcoal grey three-piece number with a black silk shirt underneath. He’s wearing a familiar black belt and shoes that he’s pretty sure belong to Bucky and of course, that deep, dark, ombre tie.

Steve’s cheeks are pink from their kiss, and likely so are Bucky’s, but still, he can’t help but smirk and ask, “Did you let Tony buy you this?”.

Steve goes predictably red.

Steve Rogers was not the kind of man to accept hand outs. Especially not ones as frivolous as a _suit_. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

When Tony showed up to pick Steve up, Bucky’s pretty sure his heart stopped. His knees definitely gave out and he none-too-gracefully caught himself on the kitchen counter because the two of them together in beautiful, perfectly tailored suits and shined shoes was enough to kill a lesser man, Bucky was certain.

Not for the first time, Bucky was left wondering if he could even survive dating these two men.

He tried to play it cool with a cheeky line, “Don’t worry, I won’t wait up,” and a wink, but with the kiss both his boyfriends left him with, Bucky lost all semblance of propriety.

He remained weak kneed the rest of the evening, with a brief intermission to order some Thai food for himself.

Bucky honestly wasn’t expecting his boyfriend to come home to him that night. He expected he’d see Steve in the communal kitchen come the morning, Tony wearing his shirt or something ridiculous like that. So, when Bucky hears Steve come in, he gets up out of bed to meet him, wondering if it went okay.

Steve’s standing slouched against the closed door, a familiar stance Bucky thinks smugly as he notes the equally familiar bulge in Steve’s pants. Steve looks thoroughly debauched in that suit and Bucky looks his fill with open delight.

“Taking it slow, are ya?” He teases, then yawns. It’s after one, which was why he wasn’t expecting Steve back at all.

“Not, uh, not exactly,” Steve says, “He got called back to SI so we uh… cut things short,” he explains and then licks his lips subconsciously. His mouth is red, red, red, and glistening in the dim light, and his lips are a little… swollen.

Bucky looks his boyfriend up and down, notes the immaculate crease of his pants has been ruined at the _knees_.

Realization dawns on Bucky and he raises his eyebrow, “He didn’t have time to return the favour?” he teases.

Steve groans and lets his head fall back against the wall.

When Bucky gets within grabbing distance though, Steve’s head snaps up just as he snaps his arms out of drag Bucky in.

When they kiss and Steve’s tongue makes contact with his own Bucky can taste… well… Bucky doesn’t end up getting much more sleep that night.

Bucky’s the one with a hickey come morning, and Sam looks at the three of them with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head and going about his morning.

“Did you get that issue worked out?” Steve asks Tony over breakfast, innocent and naïve to Tony’s smirk.

“Was mostly fixed by the time we parted ways,” he replies, “I see you saw to yours,” he finishes with the obvious innuendo that actually takes Steve a minute, and when he catches up he chokes on his orange juice.

Bucky’s barely able to suppress his own snickering, but he’s glad Sam is on the other side of the kitchen with bacon sizzling loudly in the pan when Tony turns on Bucky, “Or should I say, Bucky saw to yours,” he grins making Bucky blush.

Tony’s leaned across the kitchen island when Natasha and Clint come in. He’s just reaching to steal some berries out of Bucky’s cereal, like always, but the position is a bit suggestive. Still, it’s no reason to glare at Tony, so Bucky glares back at Natasha just as hard. Clint frowns softly between the two.

When Bruce joins them, he’s wearing yesterdays clothes.

“Tony, I need your help,” he says in a rush. “It’s an equipment flaw, it has to be,” he mutters under his breath. Bruce isn’t usually the PhD that gives Bucky the ‘Mad Scientist’ vibe, no, that’s usually reserved for Tony, but Bruce is rocking it now.

Surprisingly, Tony seems to actually know what the other man is talking about and stands abruptly, “Lead the way, Doctor Banner,” he says, faux-professional.

When they’re gone, Bucky doesn’t even have to open his mouth to voice those half-formed questions, Sam is already on it.

“Since when are they working together? And since when is Stark “Tony”?” he wonders aloud.

Surprisingly it’s Steve who answers and not Natasha, the tower gossip.

“They started a project together the other night, it’s fabric that can stretch to Hulk like proportions back down to Bruce sized. It has electron fibers and collagen nuclei,” Steve says confidently. Bucky doesn’t know enough to argue, but Sam snorts a chuckle, “Tony’s really excited about it,” Steve adds.

Bucky wonders if Tony’s excited about the project, or about working with Bruce. The genius left his coffee mug half full and on the counter. Tony never forgets about coffee. Something tells Bucky it’s not the super stretch pants that’s got Tony so invested.

Steve’s eyeing the cup too, biting his lip in thought.

“Trust me, _he’s_ the clingy one,” Natasha says to Steve.

Steve’s features darken, and Bucky’s familiar with the expression, but never directed at the team. That was the face of the Steve Rogers who was too stupid not the back away from a back-alley fist fight.

“Funny, but I don’t think I have any reason to trust you on this,” he snaps, rising to top off Tony’s cup and turning on his heal.

He struts away and Bucky’s shocked to find he actually missed that dramatic little strut as he watches Steve’s retreating form. Makes Steve’s ass look heavenly.

Steve’s gone, so she directs her dirty look at Bucky.

Bucky’s feeling pretty good about his own little pet project though. Tony and Bruce seem to be working things out all on their own in their weird science way. Tony and Steve are clearly doing great, especially when Steve meets Bucky in the gym a little later on and spends their entire warm up talking about what Tony and Bruce are working on, with a lot of emphasis on the Tony aspect.

Things with Sam are improving too, even if the change isn’t exactly tangible. He doesn’t go back to make up or apologize for any of the bullshit he’s been pulling, but Bucky never expected any of them too. He doesn’t go out of his way to start getting to know the real Tony Stark either, but he does start including him in the light and teasing banter that he engages the others in.

Clint too is taking his job more seriously than Bucky expected him to right off the bat, even if he tries to play it cool.

Bucky documents a lot of the change in the battle they are called out to that afternoon. It’s Doctor Doom, who’s heart just really wasn’t in this attack. It seemed more like the guy was doing some spring cleaning, tossing out failed attempts for the Avengers to clean up for him. It pisses Bucky off a lot more than if it was an honest to god attack on the city, if he’s honest.

“Hey, watch it, tin can!” Sam shouted over the comms.

“Sorry, thought you were a pigeon,” Tony replied, unapologetic.

“Were you aiming at the pigeon?” Clint asked, incredulous.

“Oh shoot, was that your cousin, Hawkeye?” Tony retorted, deadpan.

Bucky grinned to himself in his snipers perch.

Clint is damn near professional during the debriefing, even though he still laughs and jokes around. It’s afterwards that there’s an interaction Bucky couldn’t have really predicted, but he decides is ultimately a good one.

“Stark,” Clint says as they’re leaving.

Tony stops, but doesn’t turn around to face Clint’s serious tone, “What can I do ya for, Legolas?”.

“You said there was a cellist,” he says, and Bucky’s lost, but something unreadable crosses Tony’s face. He still doesn’t turn around, hand on the door handle ready to leave.

“In Portland,” Tony says.

“Anybody ever bother to… you know,” Clint asks, tense.

Tony nods, sighing softly, “Yeah, yeah, took care of it,” he says.

“You?” Clint clarifies.

There’s a pause where Tony bites his lip and closes his eyes for a second before he brings himself to reply, “Her name’s Audrey Nathan. Pick…” he sighs, a humourless smile on his face where he’s looking down at his feet, “pick a weekend, I’ll fly you out,” Tony says and opens the door.

He glances at Bucky, who shoots a curious look at his boyfriend before he disappears through it.

Bucky’s too confused to go after him, and when he looks at Clint, he’s fallen back into his chair, a far away look on his face.

“You good?” Bucky asks after a minute or so of silence.

Clint blinks a few times, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” he says softly, and then, “He’s a good guy. Stark”.

Bucky blinks a moment, unsure if he’d heard that right.

“Yeah, he really is,” Bucky finally responds, and he leaves Clint to be alone.

Bucky can’t really say he can take credit for whatever it was that just passed between them, but he’s glad for whatever it was.

The team is too tired from the clean up to tuck into a game of blackjack like Steve’s been making them for weeks now, but BJ still makes an appearance and Sam gives in and plays with the bot, barely keeping his eyes open.

Bucky can honestly say he’s never seen Tony this happy before, and he’s pretty sure the same can be said about Steve, and himself for that matter.

Steve looks great come Friday evening. He’s definitely taken Tony’s fashion advice seriously, even if he is still borrowing clothes from Bucky’s side of the closet instead of purchasing his own. He’s wearing black slacks and a pale blue button-up. Bucky’s eyes are just relieved that he isn’t wearing kaki.

Steve’s wearing glasses, the standard Clark Kent disguise that somehow always works. Bucky has his own version of the simple disguise, where he just pulls his hair away from his face and smiles a little. Depending on the hairstyle, Bucky apparently had the ability to look like several different people, so they work that to their advantage.

Bucky loves going to these art exhibits with Steve.

Bucky knows shit all about art.

It’s always just an excuse to watch Steve smile and tilt his head and bite his lip in deep poetic thought, or whatever it is Steve does when looking at the paintings.

Sometimes Steve catches on.

“This one reminds me of you,” Steve says.

“Huh?” Bucky responds, eloquently.

He looks to find them standing in front of a black circle.

“On loan from State Russian Museum,” Bucky reads, raising an unimpressed eyebrow, “Really Steve?” He asks, deadpan.

“I meant it more in an abstract way,” his boyfriend grins.

“Tony’s humour is rubbing off on you,” Bucky chuckles, bumping his shoulder against Steve’s.

Steve doesn’t deny it, only rolls his eyes and drags Bucky to the next exhibit.

“Speaking of,” Steve says, voice overtly neutral and instantly spiking suspicion, “Tony invited me out again,” he states with a barely controlled grin.

“Oh yeah?” Bucky replied with obvious suspicion, “When are you going out?” he asks.

“Sunday,” Steve finally gives in and grins.

“Sunday?” Bucky clarifies, but then recalls, “That’s when Tony invited… _oh_ ,” he realizes. A date between the three of them.

Nervous excitement bubbles in his chest, spilling over into a nervous little laugh that makes Steve bump their shoulders together softly. He’s not sure what he’s so nervous about, exactly. He’s been on a date with Tony, and he’s _currently_ on a date with Steve, and of course the three of them have hung out many times before. It’s not anything that Bucky’s unfamiliar with, but yet at the same time he knows the experience will be different.

He thinks it will be good different though, like going out with Tony was different.

“Can’t wait,” Bucky says with a grin of his own.

The next exhibit is equally as abstract as the one before it, but it lacks the _minimalism_ being showcased in the other room. Bucky really doesn’t understand the appreciation of a bunch of meaningless shapes on canvas, but Steve does, and that’s all that matters.

A new painting catches Steve’s eye and he spends a long time gazing there. It’s a wash of blues and greens, something resembling the ocean, a beach maybe, but it’s all swirled together.

“Tell me about it?” Bucky asks after a while.

“Oh,” Steve smiles, “I don’t know anything about this stuff,” he admits with a gesture around the room, “It’s all after the war, I just like it,” his smile is warm, and Bucky thinks that the painting might remind Bucky of Steve and the golden sand of his hair and the ocean of his eyes.

“Reminds me of that time we went to the Coney Island beach,” Steve goes on, “You let me draw you for hours,” he says.

Blushing, Bucky shrugs, “Yeah, well it was an excuse to lay around in the sun without you harpin’ at me ‘bout the housework,” he mumbles.

“Taking your shirt off always helps the cause,” Steve mumbled back with a sly grin.

Bucky chuckled, “I’ll remember that on laundry day, then,” he says.

Steve just rolls his eyes.

Steve stares at the painting a while longer, a content little smile on his face.

Bucky thinks back to the beach. His memories are mostly restored, but he often gets the order of events a little messed up. He is reasonably sure that the day Steve’s referring to was also their first kiss. It definitely felt like it was in his memory, that Bucky’s sure of.

He kisses Steve now just because.

“Oh,” Steve says after the brief brush of lips, then he rolls his eyes, “If you’re going to kiss me, kiss me right,” he smirks.

“Oh, and you’re an expert, are ya?”

“I’m getting there,” he says and leans into kiss Bucky again with a slow and lingering kiss that he only stops after a pointed throat clearing from the security guard near the door.

Chuckling quietly, Steve takes Bucky’s hand, “Come on, lets get out of here,” he says.

Bucky nods and trails along after him with a dopey smile on his face and laughter on his breath even when they’re glared at by the museum personnel.

“Like I always say, your stuff is way better than all this,” Bucky laughs.

“Like I always say, art is worthless until your dead,” Steve replies with his own huff of laughter.

Bucky did not believe that at all. Steve’s art was worth more than that entire museum in Bucky’s eyes, but he suspected Steve knew that, especially when Bucky got roped into being Steve’s muse when they got home.

Bucky’s happy to laze around while Steve draws him though. He even feels okay about taking his shirt off now that he has a new arm from Tony. The scars won’t go away, this he knows, but at least now they can heal some instead of just getting worse. He never liked when Steve drew him when he was still attached to the Hydra arm, but now… now he really doesn’t mind.

Steve draws him with his prosthetic, he draws him without it, he draws him with pinned up shirt sleeves, and he draws him with scars on display. Steve doesn’t really discriminate, Bucky has found, flipping through Steve’s sketch books.

There are drawings of Bucky from the thirties and forties, of Bucky out on the fire escape and smoking, of Bucky dancing. There’s some of Bucky in uniform, both from the war and now.

There are drawings of Bucky in the tower and seven years old, some happy, some sad. Tony is in all of those, and although Bucky doesn’t exactly recognize the child as himself on anything more than an objective understanding sort of level, he does recognize Tony and a kid and it’s… a pleasant image. Definitely not one he thought he would find so… well Bucky isn’t exactly sure what he finds it. It’s positive though, he knows that.

While Steve’s sketching Bucky now, naked but for a bedsheet around his waist that Steve insists is art and not porn (until Bucky reminds Steve how Bucky ended up naked in a wrinkled bedsheet), Bucky is flipping through older sketchpads.

Steve doesn’t often use colour in his sketches, but Bucky comes across a lot of Tony in charcoal and pale electric arc reactor blue. Finds sketches of Iron Man falling from the sky, not-so-coincidentally next to ones of Bucky falling from a train.

Not for the first time Bucky thinks Steve should see a therapist.

He tells him as much while he’s kissing his way up Steve’s shin, leaving the sketchpad open to one of such terrifying images.

Steve sighs, leaning back against the wall and straightening his legs to let Bucky continue his affections, trailing kisses from Steve’s knee to hip now before he answers, “I feel like I’m not allowed,” Steve says, “That… that’s not a _Captain America_ thing to do,” he admits.

Bucky doesn’t pause in his ministrations, making his way up Steve’s body, mumbling against heated skin, “I don’t care about Captain America, Steve. No one does. I care about _you_ , and you need to care about you too. Lead by example and all that”.

“An example for who?” Steve asks with the weight of the world in his voice.

Bucky drags his teeth sharply over Steve’s collarbone and then answers, casual, lightly, distracted almost, giving contrast to the severity eating away at Steve, “Me. Tony. Kids if we ever have them,” he lists with finality. There’s no one else Bucky can think that Steve needs to be setting an example for. He’s not a walking public service announcement despite what people seem to expect.

“Kids?” Steve asks sharply, letting his head fall back against the wall and giving Bucky more space to explore.

“If we ever have them,” Bucky says, kissing Steve’s lips softly when he makes it there before continuing back the way he came.

Steve does nothing but sigh and hum at the feeling of Bucky’s scruff against his skin for a long while but then he whispers, “I’ll see a therapist,” and Bucky rewards him to the very best of his not inconsiderable abilities.

Bucky’s glad that he got Steve to agree to therapy when he did, because after the events of the following day, Steve is going to need it. So does Bucky, but he’s already on that.

Then again, Bucky might also end up in prison for _murder_ , and thus might need to contact a new therapist.

It’s Tony’s voice that stops Bucky’s metal fist from making contact with Romanoff’s nose an inch before impact.

He supposes she gets points for not cowering or fighting back, but it’s no where’s near the number of points she just lost for landing both Bucky’s boyfriends in fucking medical.

She looks more terrified at the sound of Tony’s sharp pained gasp than she did of Bucky’s arm flying towards her face, and Steve’s complete lack of response to Bucky’s rage.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Tony mumbles, “Everyone else okay? Couldn’t have been too bad if you can all afford to loiter at my bedside,” he jokes.

Tony’s also tearing out his IV and swinging his feet to the floor before anyone can get another word in.

“Tony! stop!” Steve insists, because Bucky doesn’t have the strength to get the words out, just stares at the idiot with a pleading expression. Pleading for him to have some common sense. “You’re going to tear your—” Steve tries, but it’s too late for that.

Tony looks down at the gauze taped to his side and back up at the room sheepishly, “Oops,” he grins, “Don’t remember that happening,” he says, then looks back at where blood is seeping through the bandage. Bucky aggressively slams his hand down on the ‘call nurse’ button with a glare. He’s not even sure who the glare is meant for.

“What did happen?” Tony asks, pulling at the bandages until Bucky grabs his wrist and decides that yes, it’s Tony he’s going to glare at right now.

“You saved my life,” Natasha speaks up from her place at the foot of Tony’s bed. She sounds distant and shocked. It’s not something he’s ever heard from her before.

“Yeah, no I remember that part,” he says offhandedly, “You’re welcome, by the way. I’m taking credit, but it was mostly Jarvis. Anyway, I meant the bleeding. I don’t remember bleeding”.

“You saved my life,” Steve says, a frown on his face.

“Right yeah, since I told you I had it and you didn’t listen,” Tony says, turning argumentative.

“It was my fault,” Natasha butts in again. It stems the argument for now, and Bucky can acknowledge her help in that. He’s not sure he has it in him to deal with those two going back and forth about who was in more danger right now. They were both in hospital beds today. At least now Bucky knows they’ll kiss and make up a lot faster.

But it was Natasha’s fault they were in this situation. It was all her fault.

She said _she_ had it and she didn’t. Almost got herself blown up if it wasn’t for Tony sending the Iron Man suit after her. Encasing her seconds before the blast that sent shrapnel and fire raining down on where Steve had been trying to get to her. Where the suit had deposited Tony defenseless in his flight suit and tackling Steve to the ground, shielding him from the blast.

“I made a bad call,” she says.

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees, “You did”.

She doesn’t look at him, instead turns, catches Steve’s eye for a second, looking for something there. Whatever she finds, her eyes move to Tony next.

“Thank you, Tony,” she says, and Tony’s face is awash with shock and confusion.

She doesn’t stay to hear his response, which is good, because when he does give it to the empty space she was occupying, it was uncharacteristically vulnerable, but characteristically argumentative.

“What else was I supposed to do? We’re a _team_ ,” the way he spits the word under his breath pulls hard at something in Bucky’s heart.

Steve opens his mouth a few times to speak, but finally settles on pressing a kiss to Tony’s head just before the nurse arrives.

It’s six stitches right above his hip, a graze from something jagged and mean that’ll leave yet another scar on Tony’s body, but at least it wasn’t lodged in Steve’s lung. Bucky assumes that had been Tony’s thinking at least.

Steve had been unconscious for a while too, his nose broken and concussed, not that you could tell now with the serum repairing all the damage while Tony was still asleep. As a rule when Tony is in medical, the staff try and keep him unconscious as long as possible to give the healing process a fighting chance before the genius is doing his darndest to upset the whole process and terrorize the staff. He’s still only been out two or so hours.

“It’s fine, lady,” Tony’s saying, “Just glue it and I won’t have to come back, here,” he says, pushing away her hands. She’s been in the room thirty seconds and she already looks frazzled.

Tony’s grabbing for the dirty gauze, pressing it to his side and standing up, she looks like someone slapped her.

It’s when Tony’s digging around in the drawers for the skin glue and sutures to patch himself up that she shakes herself out of it.

Bucky has to step out of the room to stop from laughing or crying, or maybe both. It was a stressful day. He can hear Steve trying to help the poor women corral Tony back into bed and is glad one of them have patients to handle this today.

“Hey man,” Sam appears in front of him, “How is he?” he asks, and Bucky can’t help but think Sam wouldn’t be asking a week ago.

“Traumatising the nurses,” Bucky says. He has to go back and explain at Sam’s bewildered expression though, since it’s not like the rest of the team have much understanding of Tony’s behaviour towards the medical staff.

Bucky can hear Tony shouting about his PhD’s and Steve’s exasperated reminder that none pertain to the human body.

“And how are you doing?” Sam asks after a while of awkward silence.

Bucky shrugs, “She’s lucky I didn’t kill ‘er then and there,” he spits, “Stevie didn’t look ready ta stop me,” he adds.

“That would be counter productive, all things considered,” Sam points out.

Bucky just shrugs.

Soon after the nurse leaves at a hurried pace, shooting a withering look Bucky’s way as she passes.

“Can I go in?” Sam asks, “Or are you acting security?” he teases.

Bucky rolls his eyes and sweeps his arm out to gesture Sam inside, bites his tongue on a sarcastic ‘good luck’ because he’s not sure Sam deserves even that. Bucky’s going to get Tony coffee before he goes back in there anyway. That’s the best way to handle injured Tony. Get on his good side and try and administer care while he’s not looking, not at all unlike Steve.

Whatever was discussed was heavy, Bucky can tell when he gets back, but the peace offering of coffee breaks Tony’s set jaw expression the moment he enters.

“God, I love you,” Tony sighs when he gets eyes on the coffee.

Bucky blushes for some reason. Maybe it’s hearing those words again and in front of other people, even if one of them is Steve. Who knows? Tony could have meant the coffee. Either way, Bucky replies, “I love you too,” in a low mumble when he hands over the cup.

Seeming to notice that Sam was still in the room, Tony clears his throat, “Good, great. Glad we got that covered,” he says, awkward, “Anyway, when can I leave? The glue is dry, guys,” he motions to his side which is glued shut in one of the worst attempts Bucky’s ever seen done by (or at least in the presence of) a medical professional.

“No, it’s not,” Steve sighs, “Five minutes, Tony. That’s all. Just five minutes,” Steve groans.

“It’s already been five minutes,” Tony mutters petulantly under his breath, but Steve and Bucky both pretend they didn’t catch it.

“I think we scared Buck,” Steve whispers to Tony where he’s seated on the corner of the hospital bed.

Bucky quickly takes stock of himself when the two of them turn to look at him in unison, both cringing outwardly. Bucky is standing with his booted feet planted a shoulders width apart, arms crossed, hair still a mess of sweat and dirt around his face and a lethal scowl on his face.

He doesn’t correct any of it. Just glares at them both.

“Well, I’m going to head out,” Sam says awkwardly.

“You do that,” Bucky replies without looking at him.

“Buck,” Steve sighs.

“No,” Bucky interrupts, the dam breaking inside him and he lets his concern flood to the surface in words now instead of body language.

Bucky knows this is part of the job. He’s keenly aware of it in fact, since he’s been dealing with Steve his whole life. It’s par for course with him. It’s been this way since he met Tony too. Bucky thinks it’s not so bad when they are on opposite ends of the field, but god damn, if one of them see’s the option to make a sacrifice play, they damn near start competing for it.

That’s the part Bucky just can’t handle.

The ‘ _You risk your life for me? No, I’ll risk my life for you_ ’ game that those two play.

He doesn’t understand where it started. Why it started. When it will end. If it will end. Bucky just knows it’s likely going to but them _all_ in an early grave.

“Do you think Tony is suicidal or something?” Bucky asks harshly.

“What? No! of course not—” Steve denies, appalled.

“Then why do you act like he is?” Bucky demands.

“Bucky,” Tony tries to cut in but Bucky isn’t having it.

“and you,” he says, “Do you think Steve’s trying to kill himself?”

“No, Bucky, that’s not—”

“Then why the hell can’t you just trust each other to take care of yourselves? Why can’t _I_ trust you two to take care of yourselves?” Bucky demands and feels tears prickling at his eyes even as he scolds them like children.

“Shit, alright, come here, Brooklyn, it’s okay, we’re okay,” Tony says gently, holding out his hand to pull Bucky closer.

He goes, but only because he’s crying now and resigned to how pathetic he must look, not because he’s not still angry. Bucky is in fact, resigned to this being a part of Steve and Tony, he really is. They’ve always been like this. Likely they always will be. It’s just so fucking terrifying to watch.

“I’m sorry, Buck,” Steve says, running a hand down his back when Bucky’s seated on the bed too. “We’re both sorry,” he adds.

Tony nods, brushing Bucky’s hair out of his face.

“You gotta say it too,” Bucky mumbles petulantly to Tony even though he knows it changes very little.

Tony smiles, but indulges him none-the-less, “We’re sorry, Brooklyn. _I’m_ sorry,” he murmurs, “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow,” he adds.

Bucky sighs and accepts their comforts.

Tony really does make it up to him the next day, even though Bucky is still pissed about the heart attack those two caused him on Saturday.

Tony takes Steve and Bucky to a little authentic Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, “So, you two can be with your people, and I can be with mine,” he had said when they arrived. Tony had very obviously been there before, and while it was fancy, much more than either Steve or Bucky would normally go to, it was also very small and cozy making the atmosphere feel more welcoming and friendly than Bucky would assume for a place that doesn’t list prices on their menu.

Tony speaks in Italian to the waiter, which is a problem because no one thought to mention that Tony speaks other languages to Bucky, who speaks ten.

“Oui, et Français un petit peu,” Tony grinned.

“Deux plus que Steve. Tres bon,” Bucky replied.

“I still recognize my name you know,” Steve teased.

They were sat at a little round table and Tony had his back to the door so that Steve or Bucky wouldn’t have to and he said nothing about it. Sometimes Bucky was really confused on how anyone could meet Tony Stark and not think he was the nicest person they’d ever met.

Bucky got to hear all about Tony and Bruce’s new project firsthand now and understood only enough to know he understood more than Steve. He also told Tony about how Steve compared him to a hundred-year-old paining of a circle on loan from Russia and Tony, predictably, laughed his ass off at Bucky’s put-upon expression while Steve giggled innocently.

“I’m a permanent installation, Bol'shoye spasibo,” Bucky said haughtily but belied his tone with a grin of his own.

“That you are,” Steve said with a soft and fond smile.

It wasn’t just dinner that Tony had planned though, but they should have expected that, Bucky thinks.

There was some sort of event going on at the boardwalk, and Tony deftly leads them through it. It looked like some sort of art exhibit, but is was set up outside, illuminated by a variety of coloured lights in the dark of the city.

“It’s just something one of the colleges does every year,” Tony explained, “Thought Steve might like it, and I _knew_ you would like this—” he says to Bucky and motions to a little pop-up food truck selling _deep fried cheesecake_.

“Oh, yeah. You were right about that,” Steve agreed with a laugh, “Very, very right,” he added when Bucky started tugging them both closer by their sleeves.

Bucky thinks it feels the most like a date right then, the three of them walking through lit up little alleys of art displays a nibbling on a shared cheesecake on a stick.

Light seems to reflect off Steve’s hair like a halo, Tony seems to absorb the light, leaving shadows that highlight his features and Bucky looks at them and thinks he’s so madly in love that it might just be this moment here that kills him, never mind the lethality of their kisses. Just the sight of them in this strange unnatural light and darkness of the city, walking on either side of him, laughing at each other, at themselves, at Bucky.

Dimly, Bucky is aware that they are surrounded by art, and he supposes that’s probably what he’s meant to be looking at, but again like the museum, Bucky’s paying it no mind. He thinks if he was talented like Steve he might want to recreate this night in pencil and paint, but he’s not so he settles for enjoying it instead.

The view is much better anyway especially when they get back to the car and Tony grabs Steve’s shirt and hauls him into a deep kiss that makes Bucky loose track of time and space watching.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of seeing them together, and when Tony kisses him next, Bucky hopes he can see much, much more of them together. In a lot of fun new ways.

“Does this uh, does this count as out third date?” Bucky rasps when Tony releases him. Steve’s behind him, and Bucky thinks his heat might be what’s keeping him on his feet.

Tony give him one last chaste kiss before pulling away and opening the car door and motioning them inside.

“It does in my books,” Tony says with a wink as Bucky gets in the car.

He doesn’t trip. Except that he definitely did. In more ways than just the physical, he thinks when he catches the twinkle of Tony’s eye and the shy smile on Steve’s face.

He also thinks he’s in for the best night of his entire life, and he’s a hundred years old on loan from Russia apparently, so that’s saying something.

Which he was. In for the best night of his life that is. Bucky is pleasantly warm with a dull ache in his lower back when he wakes up. He can feel Steve’s heat on his right, and the metal of his arm is skin warmed by Tony on his left. He must have fallen asleep with his prosthetic on.

He doesn’t much care though, just continues to lay there and bask in the warmth of his boyfriends.

“This is less weird,” he hears Tony whisper.

“Very less weird,” Steve answers with a smile in his voice.

He’s not sure what they’re talking about, but he doesn’t much care when he feels their hands clasp together over Bucky’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't taken a French class in ten years!  
> "Yes, and a little bit of French" or "Yes, and French a little bit,"  
> "Two more than Steve. Very good,"
> 
> And google translated Russian:  
> "I'm a permanent installation, thank you very much,"
> 
> I'm so sorry this took so long! Thank you so much for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
